Troublesome Brats
by CrackPairingLover
Summary: Yuuki Terumi. A 33 year old unemployed man who's struggling for survival throughout his daily life. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. So with the help of his younger brother, a 13 year old Kazuma Kval, and after an encounter with a woman named Summer Rose, he somehow finds himself working as a caretaker. But who is he paid to care for? Why, Team RWBY of course!
1. Struggles And Whatnot

**I wanted to start something new and lighthearted. Something that involves the slice of life genre. So here it is!**

 **Sadly, Still Alive: Phase II and Phenomenon Intervention will have to wait. Writing and planning the same thing over and over again can get frustrating as well as boring quite easily, so I apologise.**

 **This story is set in an AU. Faunus, Beastkin, Aura, Semblance, and all the powers which are wielded by each and every character still exists to some extent. Villains? A few. Maybe. I honestly haven't decided yet.**

 **I've changed the ages of certain characters for the story. Down below is the list. A part of it anyway.**

 **Yuuki Terumi - 33**

 **Hazama - 23**

 **Kazuma Kval - 13**

 **Summer Rose - 32**

 **Taiyang Xiao Long - 32**

 **Raven Branwen - 32**

 **Qrow Branwen - 32**

 **Ruby Rose - 10**

 **Weiss Schnee - 12**

 **Blake Belladonna - 12**

 **Yang Xiao Long - 12**

 **I'll add in the other characters once they appear, so worry not!**

 **Now, let us begin.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"That impatient harlot!"

Kval flinched when the sound of the door being kicked open resonated throughout the entire apartment building, only for it to slam shut two seconds later. He immediately paused the game he was playing and kept away his scroll device, just in time to see his big brother stomping his way towards their couch.

"Why can't people be reasonable nowadays!?" Terumi complained. He sat down onto the couch and practically threw his empty wallet at one of the dirty mugs on the table, knocking it over and spilling its contents all over the place. Can't say he did it on purpose. "Gah! I'll clean that mess when I feel like it!"

Kval sighed. He rose up to his feet and went to their little kitchen, and later returned with a white cloth in hand. "Let me guess." He walked over to the spot where the mess caused by his brother was located, and said, "It's the rent again, isn't it?"

"What else!?" Terumi brought his face down onto his hands, no doubt stressed out beyond measure, if his current behavior was anything to go by. Not that it was uncommon for him to have tantrums and enter fits of explosive rage, like the one he was having now for instance, with the only difference being that this was a lot more controlled than his previous ones. In fact, having tantrums and entering fits of rage was a daily routine for him!

It was a miracle all the stress hadn't killed him yet.

"Have you even put any effort into finding a second job?" Kval asked. He went down to his knees and started wiping the table with the cloth he carried.

Terumi leaned into his couch and glared at his younger sibling. "Of course I have, you twat! Why do you think I stay up late every night?"

Kval stopped what he was doing, and slowly turned his head in order to face Terumi. "I shouldn't answer that. I know nothing," he said, but judging by the blank look he was making with his face, it was quite clear that he actually knew something. Whatever it was.

"What the hell are you-" It only took a second for Terumi to fully connect all the dots. His cheeks flared red, but luckily he was able to get his blush under control before it had a chance to get out of hand. "You little snake. For a 13 year old, you sure know a lot about the things I do during my nighttime activities..."

Kval gulped. "I-I know nothing," he repeated, his voice wavering ever so slightly.

Terumi peered at his younger sibling from underneath his yellow hoodie, as a menacing grin found its place on his face. "It seems to me that someone is in need of a lesson," he said. He slowly brought his hands forward and went up to his feet, moving his fingers around in a creepy manner soon after. "You should know better than to spy on others, at night especially. Now tell me. What exactly do you know?"

"S-Stop it!" Kval yelled. He backed away and paled, frightened no doubt.

"Hehehe..." Terumi took a couple of slow steps forward, his grin growing more and more wider by the passing second. "Just stay right there you little-" He raised an eyebrow when his scroll device started vibrating inside his pocket. He pulled it out with an annoyed huff, not at all noticing the relieved sigh coming from Kval, and answered the call later on. "Hello?"

Kval tilted his head and watched as Terumi's annoyed expression turned into one of surprise, then shock, and finally rage. Curious, little Kval walked over to Terumi's side, but he was unable to hear the person's voice thanks to his older brother's bad habit of moving around too much every time he was on the scroll.

"So let me get this straight," Terumi started, his face darkening. "You called _my_ number, just so you can rub your achievements in my face? Is that it?"

Kval attempted to get Terumi's attention by tugging at his sleeve, but decided to back away immediately when he emitted a bone-chilling aura. Whoever Terumi was talking to, it was quite clear that the person was skilled in terms of getting under his skin. Truth be told, not a lot of people he knew were capable of doing such a thing, so it was quite rare to see him acting in such a way.

"Well screw you! I'm unemployed, you say? Well guess what? I ain't denying! But hey, at least I wasn't the one who needed to be raised in a proper manner by a certain someone who's older!" Terumi practically shouted into his scroll. Not giving a rat's ass about the asshole's reply, he quickly ended the call and slammed his scroll device down onto the table. "Good for nothing ungrateful brat," he growled.

Kval stared at his older brother with nothing but concern written across his face. Sure his brother could be an ass at times, but even asses like him had limits when it came down to how much shit they can take for one day, and that was one of the main reasons why he was worried in the first place.

In the past, a lot of adults he knew had asked him why he chose to stay with Terumi inside his apartment instead of the house which was owned by his other older brother, and he'd always reply with the same answer.

 _I may be young, and I may not know a lot of things, but it is my job to look out for my dear brother. He raised me for as long as I can remember, and he is the one responsible for making me who I am today, so I would like to repay the favor by being there for him when he needs help. Besides, if I were to turn away for a couple of seconds, who knows what he'll do. He has a tendency to get himself into trouble, more often than not, apparently. Though, you probably won't take me seriously since this is all coming from the youngest sibling, not that I mind._

Some said that what he was doing was pointless, a few said that he was foolish, and a handful even jokingly said that his mental state was broken beyond repair!

But did he care?

No. He did not.

Because Terumi was the one who raised him from scratch, not them. So who were they to say anything?

Figuring that the silence was getting a bit too much to bear, Kval went to Terumi's side once more and tugged at his sleeve, this time successfully gaining his attention. "Um...who was it?" he asked.

"A nobody," muttered Terumi.

Kval found himself frowning, but instead of sounding out his thoughts on the matter, he decided to play along. He had no intention of seeing Terumi having another tantrum, so pushing any further was out of the question. For now at least. "I see," he said.

Terumi sighed. He could already feel a headache coming along, and that managed to make him feel a lot more crappier than it should have. The stress was getting to him, and all he could do now was hold himself back from murdering anyone.

He wouldn't mind killing the landlady if he went berserk though. That bitch liked, no, _loved_ to get under his skin lately, and he'd like to repay the favor at some point. Hell, he'd probably end up doing _more_ than just repaying the favor, but being generous from time to time wouldn't hurt, now would it?

"Brother," Kval started, gaining Terumi's undivided attention. "why not we go for a walk outside? Lord knows that you need the fresh air in order to get your mind off things." He smiled. "How about it? We can even head to the grocery store for those eggs while we're at it!"

Terumi rolled his eyes. "Yeah it sounds nice and all, but I'm broke. No money means no eggs, and that also means no cheap noodles."

Kval smirked. "You are, but I'm not."

Terumi locked eyes with Kval, and he found himself smirking as well soon after. "Y'know, I like the way you think."

Kval shrugged, the smirk from before still in place. "I learned from the best, after all."

Terumi laughed, feeling all the stress leaving for once. "You little rascal..."

 **-IIXII-**

As planned, they went out.

The two brothers can be seen walking out of the store which they usually went to, since the things they had there were surprisingly cheap, hand in hand while talking to one another.

"So what you're saying is that these three assholes wanted to bully you at school, all because they know that I'm your brother?" Terumi narrowed his eyes, and proceeded to tighten his hold around the paper bag which he carried. "They got beef with me or something? That being said, what did you do?"

"Well..." Kval laughed, albeit sheepishly. "...I'm not quite fond with the idea of punching others, so I didn't."

"Hm." Terumi spared his younger brother a brief glance, no doubt curious. "Give me the specifics."

"Hehe..." Kval scratched the back of his head with his free hand. He looked up at his big brother and explained, "I ran and jumped around. Despite their size, I was quite surprised to find them struggling to catch up. Truth be told, I was...disappointed, in them."

Wow. Just wow.

Despite his innocent appearance, this kid's dangerous. But he _did_ learn from the best, after all. In the end it was no surprise.

"A slippery snake you are," Terumi commented, hiding his smile. "Keep it up. Show those assholes in school who's boss."

"Not what I intend to do, but I'll try," Kval said, grinning from ear to ear.

Terumi nodded. He turned to focus on the path ahead, but then a thought occurred to him. He closed his eyes and chuckled, before softly hitting Kval on the head with his hand, the one which held their hands together. "Thanks, by the way. I needed this," he said.

Kval shook his head, smiling. "I just did what any other little brother would do. It's no big deal. Speaking of which," He skipped a small pebble which was in his path. "how was your new job? You came home earlier than I thought you would."

"Oh. _That_." Terumi could feel his mood worsening at the mention of his previous job. "Putting it bluntly, I got fired."

"Eh!?" Kval whipped his head towards Terumi, shocked. "How in the world did you managed to get yourself fired from Tukson's Book Trade?"

"I slacked off, and _may_ have _accidentally_ torn a few pages of some of the novels when I was bored," Terumi explained, his eyes focusing on the path ahead.

Kval sighed. "Figures. So what now?"

"The usual. Find more jobs," was Terumi's reply, but his voice lacked the motivation. He sighed. "Things always end up with me getting fired. When will the cycle end, I wonder?"

"Have you tried contacting-" Kval stopped himself when he saw the sudden changes on Terumi's face. A mixture between anger and annoyance, if one may call it that. He frowned. "No?"

"No," Terumi muttered. "Never in a million years am I going to beg for help from that ungrateful-"

"Watch out!" a squeaky voice shouted from the distance, interrupting the two brothers' conversation.

Kval and Terumi turned to the source of the voice, which apparently came from behind, and the first thing which met their eyes was the sight of a young girl, younger than Kval, in a red cloak riding a skateboard, with no helmet on at that. Judging by the looks of things, it appeared that she was having trouble with controlling the darn thing, so her stopping was very unlikely.

Worst of all, by the time the two had fully turned themselves around, the girl was already dangerously close to where they were.

 _Aw crud,_ was the first thing which went through Terumi's mind. In instinct, he immediately went to Kval's front in order to act as a shield and used the paper bag he carried as his own.

The unnamed girl could do nothing as she collided herself against the paper bag, and Terumi was unable to resist the urge to wince when the familiar sound of eggs cracking under pressure filled the air. What a waste.

Well, at least the cheap noodles were safe.

"Ruby!" another voice called out from the distance.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" And then another.

"Hold on! We're coming!" Then another.

Ignoring the new voices for the time being, Terumi slowly lowered his shield. He gazed down at the little girl, only to find her rubbing her sore behind on the ground, wincing every now and again. He watched as Kval went to the girl and helped her up, while also checking for possible injuries on certain parts of her body.

"Are you okay?" Kval asked, concerned. Despite finding no injuries whatsoever after he was done checking the girl up and down, he made sure to look over her body once more, just in case if he missed anything. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"U-Um..." The unnamed girl seemed to shrink under Terumi's gaze, if the look she was making with her face and body language was anything to go by. "M-Mom said that I shouldn't talk to strangers..." she stuttered.

"Eh?" was Kval's reply. He honestly hadn't expected _that_ of all things. "W-Well," He put up a smile and held up his hands, wanting to look as friendly as possible. "what she say is true, but rest assured that I'm here to lend you my assistance. So-"

"My mom said that people who often give others help are the ones who I should watch out for," Ruby interrupted. She scanned Kval's entire frame up and down, suspicion filling her innocent eyes soon after.

"E-Eh?" was the only word which Kval was able to come up with as a reply, taken aback.

 _The hell is up with this kid?_ Terumi internally questioned himself, his right eye twitching ever so slightly, feeling annoyed no doubt. The least she could do was show them a bit of gratitude for preventing her from possibly breaking a bone or two, instead of being cautious for no good reason. _Just be grateful and be done with it already._

"Ruuuuubyyy! I'm here to save you!" one of the voices from before, which belonged to a cheerful blonde girl who appeared to be somewhat older, called out with a wide grin.

The girl with the cloak, whose name Terumi assumed was Ruby, turned to the older blonde and smiled. "I-I'm fine Yang...I think."

The blonde, who was now known to Terumi and Kval as Yang, jumped forward and caught Ruby in a tight hug, much to the younger girl's displeasure. "Ooh! I was so worried!"

"You didn't look like you were..." Ruby grumbled, but she allowed Yang to keep on hugging her anyway.

"I was! I swear!" Yang exclaimed.

"Fine. I believe you," Ruby muttered with a roll of her eyes.

While the two pair of girls were busy hugging one another, mostly the blonde though, two more other girls showed up.

"I'm glad to see that you're not hurt, Ruby," the one with the black bow and amber eyes said, sounding relieved.

"We should blame Yang for almost getting her killed in the first place! I'll tell Mother about this!" the one dressed up in white clothing yelled out, flailing her arms about as she did so. "That'll surely teach her!"

"It's not like I did it on purpose Weiss!" Yang yelled.

Terumi took his time focusing his eyes on the group of kids, his face betraying no emotions as they talked and played around with one another right in front of him. He looked to the side two seconds later, clicking his tongue as the blank look on his face quickly turned sour. "Brats. Just what I needed," he muttered.

Too bad the girl in white clothing, who went by the name of Weiss, heard him loud and clear.

The child turned to Terumi, ignoring Kval for the time being, and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "Who is this peasant?" she boldly inquired, unflinching as well as unblinking.

Terumi quickly shifted his gaze to Weiss, and if he was pissed off because of what she'd just called him, then he didn't show it. In fact, he looked perfectly calm.

On the inside was a different matter entirely though.

 _Did this brat just-_

"Hey Blake," Ruby turned her head towards the one with the black bow, successfully gaining her undivided attention. "what does the word 'peasant' mean?" She tilted her head to one side. "Does it have something to do with peanuts?"

"Not quite, Ruby. The word 'peasant' means a poor farmer of low social status," Blake swiftly replied.

Ruby blinked a couple of times. "Oh."

Yang giggled, finding the meaning to be somewhat funny. "It sounds silly, to be honest," she said.

"Hey!" Terumi shouted. "Who the hell are you calling a poor farmer of low social status!? And _you_." He turned to the one called Weiss with a glare so sharp that it managed to scare away all the birds in their surroundings. He lowered himself down to the girl's level, and if he was surprised to find her standing her ground while returning his glare with her own, then he did a very brilliant job at hiding it. She had guts, he'll give her that. "Despite having a pea-sized body, you sure have a big mouth. My advice? Learn to properly use it in the future, _plebeian_ ," he warned. "Or else."

Weiss gasped, before her face started reddening due to sheer anger, no doubt caused by the words of the unemployed man. And not only that, but the wretched man also had the audacity to call her a plebeian. A _plebeian_. No matter how hard she tried, Weiss couldn't deny the fact that he'd just struck a nerve. No one had ever called her that before, so hearing a mere peasant calling her that straight to her face made her blood boil.

"How...dare you," Weiss muttered. She balled up her hands into extremely tight fists. However, before she had a chance to throw insults at the very cause of her current mood, Terumi reached out and flicked her on the forehead. "Ow!"

"What, are you going to throw a tantrum? If so, then by all means!" Terumi allowed a satisfied grin to crawl itself up to his face, and that seemed to infuriate Weiss even further, if the redness on her face was anything to go by. Had to say that he enjoyed watching that expression of hers, but what truly satisfied him the most was the look which was dancing around in her eyes. So much hatred coming from a little brat was always welcoming. "I'm waiting," he reminded, his grin growing a tad bit wider.

Unfortunately, Kval decided to ruin his fun by being mature, like he always does when things would start showing signs of disaster happening.

"I am very sorry for my brother's behavior," Kval apologised. He stepped forward and bowed in a polite manner, and later lifted up his head a bit in order to meet the girl's icy gaze with his own. "Do ignore him. He has a bad habit of purposely getting under everyone's skin, so giving him your attention is probably what he wants you to do," he said.

 _Tch._ Terumi cursed internally. _Just leave it to him to ruin all my fun._

"I see." Weiss folded her arms and eyed the younger sibling up and down. "And you are?" she questioned.

Kval smiled and opened his mouth to answer.

Too bad he was unable to say anything when a certain someone with a red cloak came in and interfered by exclaiming, "Don't trust him Weiss, especially his brother! My mom said that we shouldn't talk to strangers because they're dangerous!"

"E-Eh?" Kval quickly turned to Ruby, sweating slightly. "You're still going on about that?"

"That's because you're a stranger!" Ruby exclaimed and pointed a finger in Kval's direction, looking all cute while doing so without knowing.

"Now that you have brought it up..." Weiss said as she cupped her chin. It seemed that she was starting to agree with Ruby from the looks of things, which was, in a way, bad.

However, before the conversation could get any further, a new voice decided to join in, which belonged to a female.

But for some reason, the owner of said voice didn't sound too happy.

"Girls! What did I say about wandering off too far? And don't even think for a second that I didn't see what happened to Ruby when she tried to ride that new skateboard!"

Yang flinched, along with Weiss and Blake. "Yikes..."

Ruby on the other hand quickly turned around and gasped, wide-eyed. "Mom!" she exclaimed as a wide grin started to form itself onto her pale face. She held out her hands and ran up to the woman who appeared to be her mother, but was unprepared when the woman's hand reached out and chopped her on the head. "Owie!" she yelped.

 **-IIXII-**

 **A bit rushed, but not too rushed. It's not too bad, but not too good either. It'll have to do.**

 **To those who can correctly guess who the landlady is will get free cookies! Though, the answer is pretty obvious.**

 **Anyway, if you readers have anything to say, any questions to ask, or any ideas to suggest, then by all means leave them in the review and I'll try to answer all of them to the best of my abilities!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	2. Public Fights And Opportunities

**Hello again!**

 **I deeply apologise for my long absence, but I'm back! CPL is back people! The holiday managed to clutch me by the balls, but I'm officially back!**

 **By the way, did anyone notice the Phase Shift reference in the previous chapter which involves Kazuma surviving the assassination attempt of the three assassins?**

 **Now, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Thank you. And yeah, when it comes down to Terumi, what do you expect? The bastard takes no shit from nobody! Nobody damn it!**

 **Frank Horrigan: Uh...you lost me there, but thanks for the review! Though, you'd probably be surprised to see who's truly the one being abused most of the time throughout this entire story.**

 **SoraReach: Thank you very much! Every little comment helps! And you were close too. It was supposed to be her originally, but I decided to change her role in the story. But it's okay! Here, have a muffin for trying!**

 **Reviews aside, let us begin.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

Summer was a lot of things. She was kind, cheerful, supportive, patient, brave, and many more. But despite all the positives, crooks and thieves alike had a tendency to be easily fooled by her appearance. She may not look like it, but she was _very_ capable in terms of combat. To her, self-defense was important.

All those harsh lessons she did with her friend Raven in the past surely paid off.

But let's not also forget the fact that she's a mother. And like any other mother in any situation, they'd be alarmed to see their child in the state of danger. If the danger was caused by another person, then the mother would do anything in their power to hunt down the one responsible, even if it would mean that they had to search through the entirety of Remnant for the poor soul. But if the danger was caused by their own child, then the only way to prevent the situation from happening again was to give them a good scolding.

And that was the main reason why Summer was scolding her daughter.

"Bad Ruby! I specifically told you to stay away from Yang's skateboard! You should consider yourself lucky that nothing was broken!"

"I'm sorry," Ruby said, eyes downcast. "I-I just...I just wanted to play with it because it looked fun to play with. I didn't mean to."

The sight of her daughter looking all guilty pulled at her heartstrings, but Summer quickly pushed the feeling aside and sighed. _At least she knows that she's in the wrong. I guess that's more than enough for me to stop scolding her,_ she thought, but even then she still needed her daughter to know that what she did was dangerous.

She didn't want the same thing to happen twice.

"Ruby," Summer called out in a gentle voice, no longer sounding unhappy. "Look at me, sweetie. I'm not angry."

Ruby moved her gaze up to meet her mother. "You're not?"

Summer shook her head. "Of course not." She went down and hugged her little daughter, a genuine smile playing across her lips. "You just scared me is all. I didn't want you to play with Yang's skateboard because I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. So seeing you riding it scared me. Do you understand now?"

Ruby returned the hug, as much as she could with her small body anyway, and nodded a couple of times to show that she understood. "I understand. I'm sorry for scaring you, Mom. I promise I'll never touch that skateboard again. Ever!" She smiled. "Oh! And I was lucky because a suspicious person saved me!"

Summer immediately broke the hug in order to get a good look at her daughter, her eyes narrowing shortly after. "I'm sorry, but what was that?"

"A suspicious person saved me!" Ruby repeated, grinning widely.

Summer continued to stare at her innocent daughter, and later found herself asking, "Mind showing me where this person is?"

"Okay!" Ruby turned around and pointed a finger at a certain unemployed man, who appeared to be busy competing against Weiss in a glaring contest. And from the looks of things, he seemed to be winning. "There he is!" she exclaimed.

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi, at some point during Ruby's talk with her mother, had decided to irritate the little snowball further just for shits and giggles. He paid little to no attention to what the mother and daughter were talking about, but the same couldn't be said for the adorable glare which he was receiving, courtesy of little Weiss Schnee.

For a squirt, she sure had a lot of guts. He would've respected that, if it weren't for the fact that he was too lazy to do so. Not like it was important anyway.

"Give it up, brat! Just be a good girl and admit defeat already. Wanna surpass me? Then I suggest you start practicing by glaring at a wall or something!" Terumi sneered. Adding more salt to injury, he went down to the girl's level and poked her on the forehead. "While you're at it, why don't you start working on your height as well? Haha!"

Weiss winced, and later found herself gritting her teeth purely out of anger. No one can blame her. "Y-You dare...make fun of me?"

"Oh?" Terumi offered the irritated girl one hell of a grin, and asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

"She will not do anything, and I will see to it that you will not either." Kval made his appearance known by stepping in between Weiss and his older sibling, surprising the girl. "Brother, do not embarrass me in public by tormenting little children. How do you expect to find a suitable job when you keep behaving like this? Things will not change unless you decide to change yourself, you know that right?" He folded his arms with his eyes narrowed. "With your current behavior, even working as a janitor I am unable to guarantee how long you will last. If you wish for me to spell it out for you, then fine. I want you to stop acting all childish and start being serious!" he scolded.

Terumi opted to silently stare at his younger sibling, but in time, without knowing it, his eyes started dropping down, only to find themselves locked onto the concrete ground later on.

It was frightening how mature Kval can be at times, considering his current age and all that. Unlike him, the little guy had restraints when it came to dealing with people, and he respected that. It just goes to show that in the next few years, he'd become someone who's reliable to others. Well, more reliable than his older brother can ever be for the past few years anyway.

 _Huh,_ was the first word which his mind was able to come up with. _Can't believe I'm being scolded by my little brother of all people. But I can't say I'm not the one at fault here. Truth be told, I don't think I was ever serious about getting a job in the first place._ Terumi blinked, his eyes still locked onto the ground. _Maybe...it would be best to change things._

He was actually _this_ close to start thinking about how to stop slacking off and start getting serious, but the sudden slow clapping coming from a certain child with a black bow on her head interrupted him from doing so.

"Despite your appearance, you seem mature. More than your brother at least. I'm impressed," the child said, sounding amused despite the blank expression she was displaying for the entire world to see. She took note of the glare given to her by Terumi, but chose to ignore it in order to focus her attention more on Kval. "Pardon me for asking, but how old are you?"

Kval turned away from his older brother and landed his eyes on Blake, his expression revealing how truly puzzled he was. "Um...excuse me?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Your age."

"Ah!" Kval nodded. "I'm 13. My name is Kazuma Kval, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Blake. Blake Belladonna. I'm 12." Blake smiled, though it was faint. "Likewise."

"And I'm Yang! The great and awesome Yang Xiao Long!" the blonde suddenly joined in, surprising Kval but not Blake. "I'm 12 years old too!"

"Y-Yang, is it? Well, nice to meet you too," Kval said, smiling sheepishly at that.

Terumi's right eye began to twitch, no doubt annoyed. _Were you not going to make sure that I start getting serious about this? Why are you suddenly acting all friendly with those brats? Tch._ He looked away. _Well, at least he isn't breathing down my neck anymore. That's good._

"Excuse me," a voice called out.

"Hm?" Terumi looked up, ignoring the calls from Kval as he was being swarmed by the three girls from before, and found his serpentine eyes locked with a pair of silver ones, which belonged to a woman who seemed to be around his age. Something about her seemed familiar, and it probably had something to do with the white cape she was wearing. Overall, he wasn't sure. He took note of the woman's black combat skirt, and had to admit that it blended well with her white cape. With that outfit, he had to assume that she at least _knew_ how to handle herself in a fight.

Observing aside, it seemed that she had business with him, if the look on her face was anything to go by. What the hell, right?

Terumi tilted his head to one side, went up to his full height, and found himself asking, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually," the woman replied.

Terumi would've folded his arms, if it weren't for the paper bag he was carrying. He moved his eyes over to said bag, and sighed when the familiar sound of eggs cracking suddenly played itself inside his head. Speaking of which, the thought of wasted eggs did not sit well with him. It just didn't. And not to mention...

 _All those eggs were bought with my little brother's money. For the love of..._

Right now, words could not describe how awful he felt. He'll have to apologise to Kval later on. It was the least he could do for using their eggs as his own personal shield.

But now that he thought about it, why couldn't he just move out of the way instead?

 _Fuck..._

Terumi balled up his free hand into a tight fist. He felt like an idiot.

 _For fuck's sake..._

No. It wasn't his fault to begin with. In fact, things would've gone smoothly if it weren't for that cape-wearing brat. _She_ was the one who ruined everything.

The story of his life. Someone just _had_ to be a bitch and shit on his day for no good reason!

Terumi clicked his tongue. "Tch. This pisses me off," he muttered without thinking.

The woman widened her eyes in surprise at that, only to narrow them shortly after. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned herself forward. "Excuse me?"

"Eh? What?" Terumi sounded as he was pulled back to reality, focusing his eyes on the woman once more. He nearly cursed at himself for forgetting all about her, and decided to straighten himself to at least show that he was giving her the right amount of attention. "Oh yeah. You had business with me?"

The woman's eyes narrowed further, and she nodded. "Yes. I do." She then stepped aside, revealing a certain cape-wearing girl who apparently had been hiding behind the woman's legs. "Regarding her."

Ruby offered the unemployed man a small and nervous smile. "H-Hi..." She waved at him.

Terumi's face turned so sour that even Ruby herself was frightened by the sight of it. The woman seemed disturbed, but she didn't comment on it. "Ah, so you're her mother. Great. I suggest you keep your eyes on her next time," Terumi said with a roll of his eyes. "Don't want her slamming into anyone else, now do you? Get her a leash while you're at it."

"I...see." The woman frowned. She didn't take the comment too well, but decided to let it slide for now. "Well, as her mother, I'm here to apologise for all the trouble she has caused you." She offered him an apologetic smile. "Also, thank you for-"

"I don't need your thanks, nor your apology!" Terumi snapped, not caring the way the woman flinched at his sudden outburst. "Got that!?"

"Eep!" Ruby quickly hid behind her mother.

"E-Excuse me?" the woman, Summer, stuttered. She was confused as to why he was suddenly acting like this, despite him being calm just seconds ago. "Why are you-"

"Oh shut up!" Terumi yelled. "You know perfectly well why I'm pissed off!"

Summer shook her head. "N-No, I don't."

"You see this? If you're blind, then here!" Terumi raised the paper bag he was carrying and proceeded to shove it into the woman's chest, catching her off-guard. "Take a look inside, and you'll understand why I'm pissed," he growled. "Go on!"

"U-Uh..." Summer did as she was told, albeit reluctantly, only to furrow her brows at the sight of cheap noodles and wasted eggs inside the paper bag. She moved her gaze up to meet Terumi's, and raised an eyebrow. "What...does this has to do with anything?" she asked, puzzled.

"Are you blind?" Terumi jabbed a finger into the paper bag, making Summer wince _intentionally_. "My eggs...are wasted! All thanks to that child of yours!" he snarled.

Summer took a step back, shocked. "W-What? How?"

"Tch!" Terumi reached out and snatched the paper bag away from the young woman, much to her surprise if the sudden gasp coming from her was anything to go by. He glared at her, and questioned, "How do you think I stopped your daughter from breaking a bone or two? If you're smart enough, then do me a favor and cough up some money."

"W-Well..." Summer, with no other choice, pulled out her purse with her eyes glued to anywhere but Terumi. She looked to her frightened little daughter, and smiled a bit so that it would at least make her feel safe. Pulling out a handful of cash, she then held it out towards an impatient Terumi. "I know you said you didn't want to hear my apology, but I want you to know that I'm really-"

"Yeah yeah." Terumi attempted to snatch the money away from Summer, but some sort of creature made out of pure black energy slammed into him from the side, much to everyone's surprise. "Gah!"

"Terumi!" a familiar voice called out. "The hell do you think you're doing!? Mugging a woman in public? Have you gone completely insane!?"

Terumi coughed a couple of times and groaned. He went up to his feet and focused his eyes on his attacker. "I am _not_ mugging her, you dog," he growled. "And you really...need to stop poking your nose into somebody else's business."

Ragna tightened his grip around his weapon, Blood-Scythe, and entered a stance. "Well it seems to me that you are, you prick! Go get yourself a job dammit!" he yelled.

"Sometimes I regret having you as my neighbour," muttered Terumi.

"Don't worry." Ragna squinted his eyes. "You're not the only one, you asshole."

And with that, the two fighters started trading blows with one another.

In public.

 **-IIXII-**

Summer, still holding out the same amount of cash from before, silently stared at what was currently happening. She was astounded at the turn of events, but the feeling was soon washed aside when someone started tugging at her sleeve.

Summer looked down. "W-What is it, honey?"

"That wasn't me..." Ruby sounded.

"Y-Yeah, your daughter's right," an unfamiliar voice said.

Summer immediately turned her head to the owner of the unfamiliar voice, and couldn't resist the urge to jump back when Kval came into view. "Eep!"

"Haha..." Kval chuckled. "I apologise for scaring you, Miss. My name is Kazuma Kval. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Summer. Summer Rose." Summer lowered her guard. She scanned the boy up and down, and nodded later on. "Likewise, I guess."

Kval chuckled once more. "Sorry..."

 _How did I not detect him?_ was the question flying around in Summer's head. Something about him...made her wary for some reason.

"Anyway, I saw the whole thing with you and my brother, and I want to apologise. Do you um..." Kval scratched the back of his head, looking unsure. "...have time? I mean, I wouldn't want to bother you if you're busy."

"Oh don't worry, I have enough time!" Summer smiled brightly, before realisation dawned on her. "Wait a minute, did you just say that the man over there is your brother?"

 **-IIXII-**

"And that's how we ended up living like we are now," Kval explained. "Oh, and the guy in the red jacket over there is our neighbour, Mister Ragna. Apparently him and my brother don't get along too well with one another. I honestly don't know why though."

"Wow. Your big brother has quite a lot on his plate," Summer commented. She winced when Ragna was stomped on the head repeatedly, only to be sent flying away thanks to a devastating kick, courtesy of Terumi. "Did he ever recover after that incident?"

"No." Kval shook his head and frowned. "He was devastated. Still showing signs to this day, in fact."

"That sounds terrible," Ruby sounded with her eyes filled with sadness. "Why won't they say sorry to each other?"

"When you think you're in the right, it's difficult to give out an apology. Trust me," Kval answered, earning a small nod from Ruby.

"Huh." Yang blinked a couple of times. She scratched her cheek and said, "I think I can understand that."

Weiss huffed. "You _think_?"

"Well at least I'm trying!" Yang turned to Weiss and pouted.

"Whatever," was the girl's reply.

"So putting it in simple terms, you two are struggling every single day to earn money. Is that correct?" Blake questioned.

Kval shrugged. "Pretty much. It's a miracle my brother and I made it this far. I guess it goes to show how hardworking he is whenever the time calls for it." He chuckled. "He may not look like it, but he's actually a pretty reliable brother."

"Somehow I doubt that," Yang muttered, only to cough loudly when Blake suddenly slammed an elbow into her side. "Oof!"

The sight of his older sibling getting axe-kicked high up in the air, just moments before crashing down hard onto the concrete ground made Kval wince. "I need to stop those two from killing each other somehow, but before that..." He turned to Summer. "Please forget about all the things my brother told you. Keep the money. I was the one who bought those eggs anyway, so technically...it all comes down to me."

"I see." Summer held a finger to her chin, looking as if she was thinking, and later snapped her fingers when something crossed her mind. A large grin took over her face. She pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote down her number, right before handing it over to a confused Kval.

"Uh...what's this for?" Kval inquired with a tilt of his head.

Summer giggled. "Remember when you said that your brother keeps getting fired?" She saw Kval nod once, and continued, "Well, I think I have a solution to this problem."

Kval raised an eyebrow, but he can't say that he wasn't curious as to what she had in store. He took the small piece of paper from the older woman and took a long look at the numbers. "Why help us?"

"There's no harm in helping others every once in a while." Summer winked at that. "It's in my nature."

"That's...true, but what's this solution that you speak of?" Kval asked.

Summer let out another short giggle. She went down to Kval's level and started whispering something into his ear. Whatever she said, it managed to catch him completely by surprise, judging by how his eyes widened ever so slightly at the end there.

"I-I don't think..." Kval stuttered, but he couldn't find it in himself to finish his sentence.

"I'm a busy woman, and you _did_ say that your brother's a reliable person. All the things you said about him? I trust you. Plus, this will benefit both parties." Summer brought a hand to her mouth and winked. "Give it some thought. Be sure to give me a call once you've made your decision."

"B-But..." Kval stuttered.

"What did you tell him Mom?" Ruby asked innocently.

Summer turned to her daughter while giggling. "Nothing important." She went up to her full height and looked to the other three girls. "Alright girls, it's time to go." Summer turned her head to face Kval one last time, and winked. "I'll be waiting."

"See you later!" Yang waved.

Blake followed the blonde's example and waved as well. "Bye."

Weiss did the same, but said nothing.

Ruby on the other hand kept her eyes locked onto Kval's face for a couple of seconds, only to turn away later on. She grabbed onto Summer's hand and walked off alongside her mother.

"Ah," was Kval's only reply as they all walked away. He scratched his head and allowed his eyes to roam over the numbers which was written down on the piece of paper in his hand. "I guess I'll give it some thought. But reliable as he is...I have my doubts."

It pained him to admit it, but it was the truth.

No matter how hard he tried, Kval was unable to picture his brother doing such a thing.

That is...unless he was extremely desperate to earn money.

 **"Carnage Scissors!"**

 **"Jakyō Messenga!"**

Kval released a sigh. "Deary me..."

 **-IIXII-**

"Stupid Ragna and his blasted Blood-Scythe," Terumi cursed as he entered his small apartment room. Once he was sure that Kval had entered, he slammed the door shut and made himself comfortable on their couch. A heavy sigh left his lips soon after. "Ugh..."

"Tired?" Kval asked, smiling slightly.

Terumi allowed his eyes to slowly shut themselves, and later muttered out a quiet, "You bet." His muscles ached, but that didn't stop him from moving around on the couch in order to make himself more comfortable.

Kval chuckled at the response as he set the paper bag containing the cheap noodles they'd bought down onto their table. "At least you managed to defeat Mister Ragna. In public at that."

"Hehe..." Terumi gave a tired laugh. "I'm sure the bastard saw it coming from miles away..."

Just then, someone started knocking on their door from the outside, gaining Terumi and Kval's undivided attention. The two siblings looked to one another, and shrugged.

"Go get it will you?" Terumi requested. "I'm beat."

"Sure thing." Little Kval made his way to the door in order to see who it was, and was quite startled to see someone who he knew that Terumi would most likely _not_ want to meet at the moment. "M-Miss Fall. What can I do for you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Cinder Fall, or much better known to Kval as simply the landlady, gazed at the little boy with absolute disgust written across her face. She pulled out her scroll device and said, "Bring me that incompetent man, little one. I need to speak with him."

Kval shook his head. He decided to be reasonable about this. "Now is not the best time, Miss Fall. You see, my brother is-"

"I care not," Cinder said. "Bring him to me."

Kval folded his arms. He may be little and younger, but that wasn't an excuse to back down from this woman. "It's the rent again, isn't it? If it's that, then we need more time. I request that you cut my brother some slack. He's been working himself to death lately, and I fear that adding more pressure would worsen his health."

Cinder did nothing but scoff. "Very well then. You're pretty reasonable...for a child, that is. But I shall give you a week, and _only_ a week. Understand?"

"It's better than nothing." Kval sighed. "And I'll take that as a compliment."

Cinder held her head up high and left, right about the same time when Kval decided to close the door shut.

"Who was it?" Terumi called out from the couch.

"No one important," he lied. Kval made his way to the same couch Terumi was resting on and sat down. He clutched at the piece of paper inside his pocket, as countless of thoughts ran through his mind. _Well, now would be the best time than any._ Still, he needed to be careful about this. Right now, taking small steps was the only safe solution. One wrong move would-

"I know that look. Spill," Terumi demanded, somewhat tiredly if one may add.

Kval deflated. "You got me..." he muttered.

"I know you better than anyone," Terumi stated matter-of-factly. "Now spill."

Kval sighed. Scratching his head, he turned away and started, "Brother, how close are we from reaching the bottom of the barrel?"

There goes his plan involving small steps.

Terumi briefly went silent, and later responded with, "Pretty close, but you know for a fact that I will keep the two of us from reaching that deep. I _always_ find a way."

"The rent?" Kval questioned with narrowed eyes.

"I'm still trying to find a solution for that one." A small groan left the unemployed man's lips as he went up to a sitting position. He yawned, scratched his belly, and proceeded to wrap an arm around his little brother's shoulders. "What brought this up so suddenly?" he asked tiredly, but curiosity was present in his voice, though it was faint.

Kval found himself clutching the piece of paper somewhat tighter than before. "Well...I recently...found a job for you that has decent pay, but I'm not sure if you'll like it though."

Terumi raised an eyebrow, but then his eyes sharpened. Any signs of being tired were immediately washed away from his face, replaced with something that was much more serious in nature. "Lay it on me," he said.

Kval gulped.

 **-IIXII-**

 **At last, things are finally happening...**

 **And two new characters have been introduced! Yay to that!**

 **Ragna - 26**

 **Cinder Fall - 21**

 **Be sure to give out suggestions regarding the other characters and their roles for this story! When it comes down to you lovely readers, I'm always willing to listen!**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed the second chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	3. Helping Others And Unpleasant Encounters

**Welcome, my lovely readers!**

 **Troublesome Brats is now back with its third chapter!**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: That's right! Good old Ragna may not be the main character for this story, but rest assured that he'll make more appearances in the coming future. Consider this a small treat for all those Ragna fans out there. That being said, you'll get your wish soon enough!**

 **jay machete: If Rachel was the landlady, then Terumi, along with Kval, would've been evicted ages ago. Though, if you have any suggestions on what her role would be, then by all means, fire away!**

 **GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus: Thanks, and it's no biggie. As long as you find it enjoying, then that's more than enough to keep me going!**

 **zeferoz: Thank you! I'm really glad you find my story interesting.**

 **Okay! With that finally done and over with, let us begin.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"I'll be getting some fresh air outside if you need me," Terumi announced as he watched Kval fiddling around with his scroll device. His younger brother nodded once to show that he was listening, and that alone was enough to make him smile. It was honestly good to see Kval acting like a good little brother...unlike a certain asshole he knew. "Come get me once you receive updates regarding my new job. I don't want to be late for my interview." His smile turned into a cocky grin. "Not this time."

Kval chuckled, just as he pulled out a piece of crumpled up paper from his pocket. "As you wish."

With that Terumi made his way outside, making sure to close the door on his way out, and then proceeded to continue his way down the stairs, exiting the building soon after. He locked his eyes on the clouds above. Subconsciously, he slowly brought his hands up to his face and pulled down his hood, revealing his face along with his spiky green hair for the entire world to see. The wind blew softly against his face, and in response to that he closed his eyes in order to enjoy the feeling, if only for a bit.

It soothed him.

A tired sigh escaped his lips, though it was quiet.

"Looks like I'll be sacrificing my sleep for today. For the greater good some would say, but I would just rather call it one big pile of BS," he muttered to no one in particular, referring to his new job no doubt. Then, his expression turned to one of curiosity. "But I wonder what kind of job the little squirt has in store for me? He looked pretty unsure of himself...for some reason." A thought entered his mind, and the current look on his face was then quickly replaced with something that was much more sour in nature. "Ugh. That job better not have something to do with me working as a janitor. I don't think I want to waste my precious time doing nothing but cleaning disgusting toilet bowls. If that were the case then I won't hesitate to murder my boss. Whoever the asshole may be."

"If _I_ were your boss then I won't hesitate to fire you, and maybe give your ass a good beating as a farewell gift," a voice sounded from behind.

Terumi rolled his eyes. "Duly noted. How was your sleep in the middle of the road? I was hoping that a vehicle would do me a solid and run you over, splattering your guts all over the place, but seeing that you are here now..." He turned his head around, just in time to see a fist flying straight at his face. He caught the offending fist with a hand, fortunately, and the urge to smirk was too much for him when he got a good look at the face of his attacker. "...I guess I'll just have to hope for the same thing another time."

"Asshole," Ragna growled. He pulled his fist back, somewhat roughly Terumi noted, only for him to fold his arms later on. "Look. I need to talk to you about something. It's pretty important."

Terumi allowed his smirk to widen. "Oh? Was I not good enough for you, Raggy Boy?"

Judging by the look displayed across his face, Ragna was already starting to regret his decision. "Ew. Stop being a gross jackass, Terumi." Nevertheless, it didn't seem like he was going to back down anytime soon, which indicated that whatever he wanted to say was _very_ important.

Terumi's right eye twitched. "I think it's _you_ who should stop acting like a complete jackass. I mean, you were the one who came in and started this, so it's definitely your fault."

Ragna found himself gritting his teeth at that. "Why you little-"

Terumi's eyes sharpened. "Look pal, I may be tired right now, but I'm pretty sure I could still wipe the floor with you without breaking a single sweat." He emitted a bone-chilling aura. "Be warned, though. Whenever I'm not in a good mood, I tend to not hold back."

"Oh for the love of Hades, I'm not here to pick a fight with you!" Ragna shouted. He slammed a hand into his face and started massaging his temples in order to sooth his aching head. "Why the hell is it that dealing with you is much more harder than dealing with Jin?"

Terumi shrugged, as the aura he emitted started fading away bit by bit. "I'm special. What can I say?"

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that." Ragna grumbled something under his breath, removing his hand away from his temples soon after. "Anyway, the reason why I'm here now is because...well..."

Terumi cocked an eyebrow.

"H-How do I say this? It's just that..." Ragna scratched the back of his head with his eyes focused elsewhere. He started grumbling out nonsense, things that Terumi didn't understand, but instead of feeling annoyed, he found the man's behavior quite amusing. "M-Maybe...y'know...you could...lend me..."

"Spit it out already," Terumi said with what others would call a blank expression, but in truth he was secretly enjoying himself on the inside. It was rare to see Ragna behaving like this, after all.

"Alright! Damn it!" Ragna clicked his tongue and looked away, red-faced. "I want you to help me find a suitable job! Out of all the people I know, you're the one with the most working experience, so...lend me a hand here! Rabbit will always be Rabbit, Kokonoe is a bit of a brat, Kagura's a prick, and I _know_ for a fact that Jin will laugh at me just to make me look bad! Despite us not getting along with one another, you're literally the only person left on my list. Plus, you're my neighbour, so it makes things all the more easier."

Terumi blinked once. Twice. Then thrice. "Wow. You just literally did something that I never thought you'd do," he commented. "Asking for help. From me of all people. Huh."

"Well I need to have money if I want Saya to live a normal life and have healthy meals every day. It's a big brother thing, Terumi. I'm sure you understand that all too well, considering the fact that you have a little brother of your own," Ragna said. "I was honestly against the idea of seeking you for help, since you're an asshole and all, but seeing that I have no other choice..."

Terumi closed his eyes and held up a hand. "Say no more, Raggy Boy. I'll lend you my help," he said with the most coolest voice he could muster.

Ragna widened his eyes at that, surprised. "Eh? Really?"

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine." Terumi chuckled, but there was a dark look in his eyes which made Ragna feel wary. From his past experiences, nothing good ever came out of deals when it came down to his green-haired neighbour. Never. "How about it?"

Ragna narrowed his eyes. "Let me hear it."

"The moment you receive your first salary, I want you to pay my rent." Terumi took great pleasure in watching the baffled look on his neighbour's face. He successfully managed to hold back his laughter, then added, "That's the least you could do for me in return. Be grateful. Normally I'd ask for more, like a lung or two, but since this is a big brother thing, I figured that lowering the fee was necessary."

"You're joking," was Ragna's late reply. He seemed paler than usual, but his eyes did a pretty good job at revealing how angry he was, no doubt because of the dick move pulled by his dastardly neighbour. "Even after lowering it, that fee of yours is ridiculous!" he bellowed.

Terumi offered Ragna a shit-eating grin. "Yeah yeah. Now take it or leave..." He took note of Cinder standing in the distance, eyeing at no one else but him with suspicion evident in her amber eyes.

And so he paled.

 _Oh shit! Can't that freakin' harlot pick a better timing!?_ Terumi screamed inside his head, feeling frustrated as well as scared for multiple reasons.

It was bad enough that the woman was breathing down his neck every week, so it was likely that he would receive some sort of punishment from her if she found out that he was forcing one of his neighbours to pay for his own rent.

Damn. There was no way in hell did he want that.

Terumi brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "I-I mean, I got you didn't I? You should've seen the look on your face, Raggy Boy! It was priceless!" he said with a forced grin, if not for his own sake.

"Eh? You were?" Ragna questioned, not believing his ears. "You'd seriously help? Like, for real?"

Terumi successfully managed to hold back the urge to physically harm himself out of sheer frustration, and simply nodded in reply to Ragna's question. "Whatever floats your boat," he muttered.

 **-IIXII-**

"Yes. He agreed." Kval moved his scroll device to his other ear, something which he kept repeating for the past few minutes. It was a bad habit of his, apparently. He took the time to listen to the person on the other end, and said, "No, it didn't seem like he was reluctant. In fact, he looked pretty serious about it." Kval nodded, smiling sheepishly. "I was surprised myself, actually. I wasn't expecting him to accept the job so soon."

The sound of someone, Terumi most probably, entering through the door could be heard, along with...grumbling and curses? Kval honestly couldn't tell.

"The address? I see," Kval continued. He spared his older brother a brief glance and nodded in his general direction. "There is no need for me to write it down. I have it memorized inside my head already." He leaned into the couch, his face facing the ceiling above. "Very well. I will be sure to knock on the door three times before entering. Bye."

Terumi rubbed at his eyes, feeling tired most probably. "Was that my soon-to-be boss?" he asked.

"Indeed it was," Kval answered, keeping away his scroll device soon after that with a smile on his pale face. "She sounded really happy when I told her that you accepted the job."

"I see. When do we-" Terumi paused. His eyes widened when realisation slammed into him like a speeding train. " _She_? You mean, like...a woman? Female?" He pointed at himself. "My boss?"

"Well, yes." Kval tilted his head to the side. "Will that be a problem?"

"Just..." Terumi brought a hand to his face and started scratching his cheek, his eyes wandering elsewhere soon after. "...wasn't expecting my boss to be a female is all."

"Oh you'll do fine," Kval assured with a wave of his hand, smiling ever so slightly. "During our talk, I can tell that she's not really the type who likes to take huge bites out of a person's ear. Relax," he assured.

"You should never judge a book by its cover," muttered Terumi, as a certain woman who went by the name of Konoe A. Mercury passed through his mind. His mood worsened considerably at the hellish memories. "Never again..."

Konoe A. Mercury. Back then, when he discovered a picture of her in a help wanted poster, she looked like one of those people who were kind and reasonable. Apparently in the poster it explained that she required an assistant to help her with things which Terumi never really bothered to remember. Either that or he just didn't give a shit. Something about books, if he recalled correctly.

However, after meeting the woman in his interview...

It turned out that she was actually the daughter of Satan in disguise.

Oh how he hated her. _Despised_ her.

It was a miracle that she accepted him. He would never understand why though.

If anything, it probably had something to do with his knowledge on whatever matter they were working on at the time. If so, then it's no wonder.

Still, during his time working as her personal assistant back in the past, Terumi never really liked her for multiple reasons, and he could tell that she felt the same way. The damn woman always preferred to run her mouth for no good reason, mostly about him and his incompetence, and he absolutely hated that.

Throughout his _entire_ working history, that was the only job where Terumi decided to quit, instead of staying just so he could get himself fired.

And what a good choice that turned out to be.

If he had stayed any longer, which was a downright crazy thing to do, then he was unable to guarantee the woman's safety...

"Brother? Are you there?" Kval called out, snapping his older brother back to reality. "You were spacing out. Do you feel ill?"

"No. I was just remembering things." Terumi closed his eyes and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think it's about time I meet my employer. I can't afford to be late on my first day. Not like I give a shit or anything, but I don't want her to view me as someone who's incompetent before I start working."

He wouldn't admit it, however, but Konoe managed to make a pretty large impact on him. Ever since he left that hellish job, he had been giving his all each day so that it would prove to others, Kval especially, that he was _not_ incompetent. And anyone who would say that he was would either get punched, or stabbed. Both if the situation called for it.

In a way, it was a good thing.

Kval eyed his brother for a brief moment, suspicion evident in his eyes, but in the end all he could do was nod. "Of course."

 **-IIXII-**

"You sure you know where you're going?" Terumi questioned as he, along with his brother, seemingly walked around aimlessly in the streets. His hood was back up, shadowing most of his face like usual. "I'm asking this because y'know, I have a sinking suspicion that we're actually lost. At least that's what I think. Honestly don't know about you though."

"Are you doubting my skills as a navigator, Brother?" Kval shot back, his voice filled to the brim with nothing else but confidence. Where he got all that was a mystery, however. "Rest assured that you are worrying over nothing. But I have to say, that seeing you like this..." He couldn't help but shake his head. "It is really unbecoming of you."

"Unbecoming of me...?" Terumi brought his hands up and started cracking his knuckles, as the look on his face darkened ever so slightly. Now that he thought about it, he _really_ needed to do something about that little smart-ass attitude which was currently being presented to him by his little brother. "You're a real piece of work, y'know that right?"

Kval, with his face now paler than it had been, started walking much faster in order to buy himself some distance away from his brother. Being tormented in public was the last thing he needed. _I think it's better if I were to keep my distance, just in case if he decides to grab me._

The memories of what Terumi had done to him in the past resurfaced in his mind, and he found himself shuddering all thanks to that. Though, it's not exactly the case of what Terumi had _done_ to him, but rather what he _made_ him do.

No matter how hard he tried, Kval was never able to erase those unwanted memories from his mind. He just couldn't. Well, at least not permanently.

There was that one time when he was told to clean their apartment room all on his own, then there was that other time when Terumi forbid him from playing with his scroll for a full month.

And let's not even start on that one time when he was ordered to clean their toilet!

Good lord. That was by far the worst of them all.

And it was all thanks to his big mouth that he had to experience all that.

He really needed to stop blabbering out dangerous nonsense right in front of his brother.

"A-Anyway, we're almost there..." Kval stuttered, in hopes of changing the subject.

Terumi cocked an eyebrow. He lowered his hands and set them inside his pockets, before asking, "How do you know for sure?"

Kval smiled smugly. "Well, that's because I'm your little brother."

As if someone had just flipped a switch, the air suddenly went silent.

Kval started sweating all over. _Oh dear. Did I say something wrong again?_

Fortunately, the silence lasted only for a couple of seconds.

 _Unfortunately_ , however, Kval's guess was pretty much correct.

"For some reason..." Terumi's face darkened once more. "...I find that to be insulting. Are you trying to say that I'm unreliable?"

"Eep!" Kval jumped in alarm. "That's not what I meant, I swear!" Without even waiting for a reply, he quickly ran off in fear, only for him to slam himself into someone by accident. "Oof!" He fell on his butt at that, and he could practically feel his cheeks reddening due to the loud laughing of his older brother. That jerk. Always busy laughing at others whenever the time truly called for him.

Some things about him will never change, apparently.

"Watch where you're going, brat. The last thing I need is to beat up a stupid kid in public. Lord knows I ain't got time for that," a voice sounded, which was laced with venom and anger.

Kval went still and silent as a statue, scared no doubt.

 **-IIXII-**

 _Okay, just what in the fuck is that guy's problem?_

Terumi, who had stopped laughing after listening clearly to what the man had just said, marched his way over to Kval and stood right in front of him. He scanned the unnamed man up and down with his serpentine eyes, and the first thing which caught his attention was the silver flask in one of his hands, and later the red cape attached to his back which had seen better days.

Terumi scrunched up his face in disgust. _Asshole's drunk. Typical._

"Hey buddy, what's with the look?" the man asked, his eyes squinting to get a better look at who he was talking to. "Y'know, I was in the middle of something here and-"

"I've noticed," Terumi interrupted with a blank look. All of a sudden, he perked up, and later started searching through his yellow hooded-cape, much to the drunk man's confusion. "By the way, I have something for you. You'll love it, I'm sure."

"You do?" the man narrowed his eyes. "What could you possibly have that-"

"A fist!" Terumi shouted at the top of his lungs. True to his words, his fist came slamming into the face of the drunk man, knocking him down to the ground. Acting quickly, Terumi grabbed the wrist of a stunned Kval and ran off. "I hope you enjoyed your gift, jackass!"

Kval, whose face was extremely pale, looked back to the downed man with widened eyes, right before moving his gaze over to his brother. Hell, he looked like he was going to suffer from a major heart attack. "Brother, did you just went ahead and-"

"Assaulted an asshole!?" Terumi cut in as he ran, dragging Kval in the process. "Well yes I did! You can sure as hell thank me for that!"

"I appreciate what you did back there," Kval turned his head to the downed man once more. "but was that _really_ necessary? The man was drunk!"

"Necessary? Kinda. Plus, he was drunk, which makes it all the more better! Bastard won't know what knocked his lights out once he's sober!" Terumi shouted, as a shit-eating grin started to form itself onto his face. "Besides, no one messes with you while I'm around. The moment you bumped into him, that son of a bitch had just dug himself his own grave."

He had a point there. There was a high chance that the asshole won't remember who punched him, considering the fact that he was drunk and that most of Terumi's face was hidden thanks to his hood.

"Oh." Kval was slightly relieved once he thought about it, but the fear of the man finding them out still lingered. "Y-Yeah. I guess you're right..." he said, though he didn't sound too sure of himself. Despite that, he turned to Terumi and offered him a genuine smile. "Thanks."

Once he was sure that the man was out of their reach, Terumi halted in his tracks and released Kval's wrist. He brought a hand up to his face, pulled down his hood, and later started taking in deep breaths to stabilize his breathing. Truth be told, he was never the physical type, not really anyway, so running around in the streets like it's nobody's business sure as hell took a toll on him.

Putting it bluntly, he was exhausted.

"I'm glad that's over..." muttered Terumi.

"You're not the only one," Kval added in, equally exhausted. "All that running sucked the energy out of me, but on the bright side..." He wiped some sweat from his brow. "...I can't believe that we're actually here. I guess luck is on our side for today."

"Eh?" Upon casting a questioning glance towards Kval, the first thing Terumi noted was him pointing a finger at one of the regular houses nearby. At first he was puzzled, but only then did he finally start connecting the pieces. "That's the place?" he questioned.

"It is." Kval nodded. He turned to Terumi and held up a hand. "Now, stay here while I-"

Terumi put a hand on Kval's head and gently but _firmly_ pushed him aside, not giving a damn about him and his instructions. "If you'll excuse me..."

"H-Hey!" Kval yelled out. "She specifically told _me_ to-"

"Knock on the door three times, right?" Terumi cut in with a smirk, his eyes locking themselves onto the door ahead. "Don't you worry one bit. I'll be sure to do _more_ than just that."

And with that said and done, the unemployed man brought his foot up into the air and prepared himself.

"Brother no!" Kval was about to lunge towards his older brother in hopes of preventing him from doing something so foolish, but his mind immediately went blank when something unexpected transpired right in front of his very eyes just seconds after.

It all happened so fast.

The first thing he remembered was Terumi planning on kicking down the door which led to the house of his soon-to-be boss.

But the next thing he knew, his older brother was sprawled across the ground, emitting pained groans every now and again.

The door which led to the inside of the house was now open, revealing a certain woman standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, looking quite angry for some reason.

On that particular moment, Kval did the first thing which his mind told him to do.

He sighed in relief.

"That was close..."

 **-IIXII-**

 **More characters, but this time instead of appearing they were only mentioned! Keep in mind that I still haven't figured out what their roles for the story would be as of yet.**

 **Rachel Alucard - Unknown**

 **Konoe A. Mercury - 33**

 **Kokonoe A. Mercury - 13**

 **Kagura Mutsuki - 28**

 **Jin Kisaragi - 22**

 **Saya - 11**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review if you enjoyed the third chapter of Troublesome Brats! See you readers later!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	4. Meeting New People And Unexpected Offers

**Hello again! CPL here with the fourth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Hm. That idea of yours ain't bad. For starters, I'll have to figure out how and when he'll make his appearance. Thanks for the suggestion!**

 **GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus: Indeed he did, my fellow reader. Indeed he did. Something tells me that things would go down to shit if the two were to cross paths again in the future chapters, sober or not. Glad to hear that you're enjoying the story so far, and be sure to look forward to the next chapter. Unfortunately, nothing much happens in this one.**

 **Okay! Reviews aside, let us begin.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

Summer winced when she brought a hand up to her reddened cheek. Using her free hand, she picked up the empty plastic mug on the floor and set it down onto the kitchen table, all the while ignoring the broken plates and mugs scattered throughout her entire kitchen.

 _I'll clean these later,_ Summer told herself.

"M-Mommy?" Ruby entered the kitchen with tears in her eyes, sniffling every now and again as she took in the sight of her pained mother. "A-Are you okay?" she asked.

Summer turned to her daughter and did her best to smile cheerfully. "I'm fine, sweetie. Mommy's a lot tougher than she looks." That one was a lie, and she knew it. "That man has got nothing on Mommy. If you paid close attention to his eyes, it's obvious that he was aware of the fact that _he_ was the one in actual danger. If he'd chosen to stay a second longer, then Mommy would've given him a good spanking as well as a long lecture, so there is no need for you to worry." Summer walked over to her young daughter with the intention of patting her on the head, but was startled to find her daughter hugging at one of her legs almost immediately. "R-Ruby?" That's when she realised that Ruby was crying. She frowned. "Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

"I hate seeing that man! Why does he keep coming here!?" Ruby cried out with tears streaming down her face. She began wiping at her face with the back of her hands, but it did nothing to stop the tears from spilling out. Nothing did. "I wish he'd just disappear!"

Upon witnessing Ruby's outburst, Summer closed her eyes and lowered herself down. She then pulled the crying girl into a warm and gentle embrace, smiling when the gesture was returned moments later. _If only you knew,_ _Ruby,_ she thought. _If only you knew._

"Mommy, why does he keep coming here...?" Ruby repeated, her crying dying down a bit as seconds ticked by. "Why can't he just leave us alone?"

"Well..." Summer tightened her hold around Ruby, the smile on her face faltering slightly. "...it's complicated."

Ruby sniffled. "B-But he's-"

Just then, loud noises could be heard from right outside their door.

Summer narrowed her eyes. _Is he back for more? I hope not._

"W-Who's that?" Ruby found herself asking as she looked to the door.

"It could be the mailman," Summer said in a joking manner.

Ruby pouted. "Mom, be serious." She looked up to Summer, revealing the slight concern in her eyes. "But what if it's him?"

Summer grinned. "Nope! I think it's just the mailman. Now, stay here while I go talk to him." She patted Ruby on the head and walked to the door. However, the more closer she got to her front door, the more nervous she was starting to feel.

What if it was really him? What if he was back for more? What then? And to make the situation all the more worse, Ruby was here with her. Her very own daughter.

Summer balled her hands into fists. _I swear, if that man so much as-_

"Brother no!" a rather familiar voice yelled out from outside.

 _What on Remnant?_ Summer quickly threw her previous thoughts aside and raced to the door. Not really knowing what to expect, she grabbed the knob, twisted it, and pulled the door open.

Just in time to see a foot flying straight towards her stomach.

Instincts kicking in, Summer prepared her hands right around her stomach and caught the foot, much to the foot owner's surprise and shock. She quickly tightened her hold on the foot, only to twist it around later on so that the rest of the parts attached to it would lose balance and fall to the ground.

She then placed her hands on her hips, pouting angrily at the person who had the balls to try and take her down.

 _Serves you right, you...wait a minute,_ Summer took in the sight of the person, only to quickly realise that it was the very same man she'd met a few hours earlier. So with that realisation, she brought a hand to her mouth, wide-eyed. _Oh dear. I can't believe I just did that! But still,_ Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. _what on Remnant was he planning on doing in the first place?_

"That was close..." a rather familiar voice muttered from the side, and with a quick look, Summer discovered that it was the man's little brother, Kazuma Kval.

"You!" Summer called out, grinning, temporarily forgetting all about the downed man near her feet. "You came!"

Kval walked forward and offered the older woman a grin of his own. "I did. And I've brought my brother with me, just like we discussed."

Summer giggled. "I can see that quite clearly, thank you very much." She looked over at Kval's older brother, and immediately she could feel herself sweating because of what she'd done to him just moments prior. All she could do now was hope that he wouldn't explode in a fit of uncontrollable rage upon meeting her. Again. Like last time.

Kval's older brother, who was known to her as Yuuki Terumi, gave a pained groan as he lifted himself off the ground. He staggered a bit once he was finally up, and soon started dusting off his clothes while grumbling something under his breath. From what Summer could tell, the man was definitely tired. The only clue she got from that was that his eyes, despite him trying his best to hide them underneath his hood, were slightly unfocused.

"Um...hello there, Mister Yuuki Terumi," she called out. "It's...good to see you again, I guess. I apologise for...sending you to the ground like that, but my instincts kicked in, so..." She laughed nervously. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

Terumi, who had been busying himself with dusting off his clothes, suddenly went still as well as silent, and that worried her.

 _Did I do something wrong?_ she wondered, tilting her head to one side.

 **-IIXII-**

 _Why does that voice sound so familiar to me?_ Terumi wondered with narrowed eyes. Like a robot on the verge of powering down, he slowly turned his head to the side, his face revealing nothing but the look of utter blankness.

And that's when he saw her.

Sure he'd registered the fact that he was sent dropping down to the ground by someone when he attempted to kick down the door like a total badass, but it had happened so fast that he was unable to register the face of said person. So seeing _her_ standing right there with a smile on her face was quite shocking.

Though it didn't take long for him to start getting angry.

"Of all the people I could've bumped into, it just _had_ to be you!" Terumi shouted. "And if I recall correctly, you never did pay for the damages caused by that child of yours." Underneath his hood, his serpentine eyes began to glow a bright yellow, which made him appear more intimidating than he ever was. "You better have money on you, woman. Or else I'm gonna lose my shit. Right here. Right now."

Summer grinned nervously.

"What are you grinning about, woman!?" Terumi spat. He took a single step forward with murderous intent, his eyes never leaving Summer's. If he could just go over there and-

"Well," Summer scratched her cheek with a nervous laugh, despite not feeling threatened. "I just thought that...wouldn't it be nice if you were to stop shouting at your employer and act more respectful?"

Terumi froze.

"I mean," Summer added, "I don't think you were told of this, but apparently I was the one who requested you for this particular job, so..."

The entire neighbourhood went silent at that.

It took a while for him to process all this, but in the end he did it. Despite losing thousands of brain cells in the process, he could still say that it was worth it.

 _I was...requested? Am I hearing this right?_ Terumi turned to his little brother for confirmation, and upon receiving a small nod, he redirected his gaze back to the woman standing in the doorway.

Right now, the best way to describe the look on his face was 'unreadable'.

Terumi tried opening his mouth to speak, but unfortunately no words came out. He didn't know why, but for some half-assed reason his throat just wouldn't cooperate.

The fact that he was speechless was infuriating.

But even then, he still couldn't believe what he was actually hearing.

Requested? _Him_? That had to be a joke. Like, when was the last time something like that ever happened to him? Probably around a couple of years ago, so why now? Plus, his record was nowhere near clean. It was in shambles at best.

Back in the day, he was a ruthless asshole as well as a violent individual, and was pretty much well-known for being one at that. And let's not even start with the fact that he had been at war with tons of NOL branches, and at some point, the White Fang, for committing countless of shady work here and there, mainly the ones located in Vale and Kagutsuchi. But let's not get the wrong idea here. The only reason why he even did all those things was because he needed to earn enough money for a living. Nothing more, nothing less.

How the NOL never succeeded in getting their hands on him was still a mystery to this day. However, some people speculated that he had an acquaintance who, apparently, was a high-ranking officer working for the NOL, which fully explained the reason why no one has ever bothered to hunt him down. But so far, no one has been able to prove this, so it was still a mystery.

Apparently, there were also rumors of him being the leader of a mysterious group, but similar to the case of that unknown NOL officer, it has yet to be proven.

For someone his age at the time, he'd sure been through some extreme shit. All those crazy things he'd done would normally get people thrown in jail, but look at him now! He could just basically walk around in the streets like it's nobody's business and no one would even give a damn!

Someone should pat him on the back for that.

It's been roughly four years, though. He'd changed quite a lot since then.

Besides, he had Kval to look after.

So with that said, why would a person go out of their way to request someone like him for a job? It didn't make sense at all.

 _I don't get it. Why would-_

Just then, something crossed his mind, and he found himself gritting his teeth at the mere thought of it.

 _Okay, I guess now it's starting to make sense..._

So that's what it was. There was no other explanation.

The damn woman. She was toying with him. That had to be it.

"I...I'm guessing that you're shocked?" Summer said, sweating slightly. The silence was starting to get to her, from the looks of it. "Um..."

Terumi brought up a single finger to shut her up. Taking the time to enjoy the silence, he then started to rub his temples with his free hand. "This is a joke, isn't it?" he muttered.

Summer blinked a couple of times, confused. "Pardon?"

"This was a way for you to get back at me, wasn't it? Honestly no one has ever gone that far before. A few, perhaps. But still..."

Any second now...

"Uh-oh..." Kval's face started going pale when he saw the dangerous look in the eyes of his older sibling. "B-Brother, I think you're misunderstanding the situation," he said. Terumi paid him no mind, however. "B-Brother?"

Just give him a second, and he'll...

"Heck, I bet you find my situation to be extremely hilarious!" Terumi removed his hand away from his face, earning gasps from both Summer and Kval upon revealing his pissed off expression. "But...I'd like you to know that I don't. For once I was serious about this, so to see... _this_ , happening? Well now, I guess you've just earned yourself a free premium ticket to the darkest and deepest hole you can ever find in hell. I hope that you're able to keep up with me, woman. I ain't holding back."

...explode.

Summer took a step back. The look in her eyes suggested that she was further confused by all this, and maybe a bit afraid as well if all the sweating was anything to go by. "What are you-"

Pulling out his knives, Terumi went down and immediately lunged forward, cutting her off.

"Kyah!" the woman screamed, her arms moving up to cover her face upon realising that she had nothing on her to protect herself.

Noticing that his target was helpless, Terumi tightened his grip around the knives in his hands and prepared himself. _Stay right there you-_

But then a long red blade appeared out of nowhere, its blunt side slamming into Terumi's face like a metal bat, which was followed by a pair of devastating punches straight to the side of his abdomen.

"Guha!" Terumi, who had been knocked to the ground with his knives scattered all around him, wasted no time in holding his side as well as his face, groaning painfully as he rolled his body from side to side. "Shit shit shit shit shit..." he cursed and cursed, not really caring how ridiculous he looked to the people around him.

"Huh. I guess that if you're lucky enough, the moment you step out of your house with the intention of throwing out your garbage, you get to see something interesting every now and then," a voice sounded, which belonged to a female. "It's a good thing that I carry my weapon around me."

"And it's a good thing I decided to accompany you," a new voice joined in, this one belonging to a male. "The heck is his problem anyway?"

"Ugh," groaned Terumi. He uncovered his slightly bruised face, which was in the process of healing by the way, and quickly sent a heated glare at the pair of dumb cocksuckers who wanted their death wishes so badly. "I see you, you...bastards! Just...wait until I'm up...then I'll show you..." he muttered.

"Scary," the woman commented, sounding all sarcastic. Her clothes consisted of a black tank top, which matched quite well with her long black hair he noted, and also a pair of grey combat trousers. She was currently using a pair of black slippers, but that little information wasn't really important to him.

Even with the sunglasses on, Terumi could practically _feel_ the woman rolling her eyes at the sight of his current condition, despite him giving out his threat just moments ago.

And that thing she was holding, besides the large black bag filled with garbage?

It was the very same blade which his face encountered.

Yeah. This woman was on his shit list alright.

"Did I...hit him too hard?" the man, whose hair was blond, questioned to no one in particular. He had a plain brown shirt on, accompanied by a pair of grey shorts and sandals. And unlike the woman, however, the guy seemed to show a bit of concern for his health. Not that he was feeling grateful for that or anything. But still, it was nice. "Honestly, he looks like a bag of rotten potatoes..."

"R-Raven! Tai! What are you guys doing out here?" Summer stammered with a nervous smile, placing her hands behind her back soon after.

Raven. So that was her name. He'll be sure to remember it.

The little sarcastic bitch.

"Well I _was_ planning on throwing away our garbage, but then this happened..." Raven answered. She spared Terumi a brief glance, and _only_ a brief glance. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tai, the man with the sandals, let out a small chuckle. "And I'm just following her around. Like usual."

"I-I see..." Summer moved one of her hands to the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "I honestly thought you two were out shopping for tonight's dinner. Guess I was wrong."

"You were," Raven bluntly stated. Then, her eyes wandered over to Terumi, who was now in the middle of pushing himself off the ground, though she could see that he was struggling. She pointed her blade at him and questioned, "Anyway, what's the deal with this guy?"

Summer laughed, a bit nervously if one may call it. "W-Well, he's...um...he's no one important! Yeah!" she exclaimed with a forced grin. "No one important! A-Anyway, I'll be seeing you two later!"

So with that said, Summer quickly went over to Terumi and, taking advantage of his current condition, started dragging him into her house.

"W-Whoa hey! Hey!" Terumi shouted, "What the hell!? Release me this instant you freakin' madwoman!"

Once inside, Summer slammed the door shut, much to everyone's confusion.

 **-IIXII-**

Kval, who'd been silently observing the chain of events that kept transpiring, released a somewhat relieved sigh. He was glad that all the violence had finally came to a stop, so all that he needed to do now was hope that Terumi wouldn't do anything foolish while he was in another person's home.

 _He'll be fine,_ he thought.

Despite that, he could only hope...

Smirking, Kval brought a fist to his chest and muttered, "Knock her dead, Brother. I'm sure you can do it."

"Hey kid!" the woman, the one who assaulted Terumi's face seconds earlier, called out.

Kval went rigid.

"You seem to know a bit about what that was about, so would you mind explaining to me?"

 **-IIXII-**

"If I wasn't so exhausted, then I'd probably be busy tearing you a new one right now," Terumi muttered from his spot on the carpeted floor. He winced and clutched at his side, pained. "Ah shit..."

Summer sighed. "I'm going to ignore the fact that you just said that." She walked over to Terumi and offered him a hand, only for her to quickly pull it back when a sour look was given to her. "Yikes. Someone's in a bad mood."

"Your fault," Terumi growled.

Summer slapped a hand onto her forehead and groaned. She was _really_ not in the mood to deal with all this. "Will you start cursing if I said that you keep misunderstanding the situation and assume things?"

"Of fucking course!" Terumi replied almost instantly with a deep scowl, but his expression quickly turned to one of confusion upon realising what she was saying. He narrowed his eyes. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Summer pulled her hand away from her face and locked eyes with Terumi. "Do I really look like the type of person who would go so far as to pull a childish prank on others just to get back at them?"

Terumi just stared.

When no answer was given to her, Summer stomped her foot like an angered child. "Well for your information, I don't!"

Terumi squinted his eyes. "How do I know for sure?"

Summer folded her arms, seemingly annoyed. "What does it take for me to prove myself?"

Terumi opened his mouth to speak, but unfortunately for him, someone managed to beat him to it.

And that someone was none other than Ruby Rose.

"Mommy?" the child called out, sounding unsure. "Who are you talking to?"

Summer perked up at that. She turned to where her daughter's voice originated from and called back, "I'm talking to a guest, sweetie! Would you be so kind as to prepare him a glass of water from the kitchen? Oh, and be sure to watch out for...y'know, the kitchen!"

Terumi raised an eyebrow.

"Okay Mommy!" the child answered, her voice sounding much more eager and cheerful this time. The sound of her little footsteps resonated throughout the whole house, and Terumi was willing to admit that it actually sounded a bit...cute.

Wait what?

"Just go and play in the living room when you're done, you got that sweetie?" Summer added.

"Okay!" came Ruby's cute reply.

 _Huh._ Terumi grunted as he successfully pushed himself off the carpeted floor, staggering a bit once he was on his feet. "Was that..." He winced, still clutching at his side. "...really necessary? I can handle myself just fine."

"Oh you! Stop being so stubborn and unreasonable!" Summer scolded with a stern glare. She then turned around and walked off. "Now come on. I'll lead you to the living room so that we can finally discuss about...well, you. Also, my name is Summer Rose, and that voice you heard just now belongs to my daughter, Ruby."

"Me?" Terumi questioned, taking note of the woman's name as well as her daughter's. He was reluctant at first, but in the end he decided to follow her. "What about?"

"Have you forgotten the fact that I requested you?" Summer reminded.

"So you weren't joking after all..." Terumi mumbled. He set his hands inside his pockets and looked to the side, taking in the sight of the beautiful paintings which were hanging on the walls of the woman's house. "Why me though? I'm curious. I mean, it could've been that asshat with the red blade out there, or that blond guy with the sandals. Hell, it could've been anyone! So...why me?"

"You're lucky that I won't be telling my neighbour that you just called her that," Summer said with an amused smirk, but it was then later replaced with a small smile. "As for why, well...I guess you could say that I'm just trying to help you out. Plus, you working for me would seriously make my life more easier. Like," She turned around to meet his eyes. "a whole lot."

Terumi returned the stare with his own, but the only difference between his and hers was that his was filled with suspicion. "Why do I feel like I'm missing something here...?"

Summer closed her eyes, but that little smile of hers was still present. Seeing absolutely no reason to hide it from him any longer, she decided to just spill it out. "Your little brother, Kazuma, told me all about your little situation," she said. She took note of the cautious look in his eyes, but despite that she continued, "That time when we first bumped into each other, when you were busy beating up your neighbour, your little brother approached me, apologised, and explained everything. He said that I didn't need to pay for the damages caused by my daughter, seeing that it was-"

"He's always been nice and polite like that, the little squirt," Terumi interrupted, but Summer didn't seem to mind, since that smile of hers was still plastered across her face. "I know that it was his money, but you still haven't answered my question. Why pick me?"

"I was getting to that." Summer rolled her eyes, and yet her smile remained. "So anyway, after the whole explanation thing, I started thinking...about the situation you're in, as well as mine. I just thought that...maybe I could try to work something out, y'know? I mean, from what I've been told by your little brother, you sound pretty reliable."

Terumi held up a finger at that. "Okay, now stop right there! Before you go any further with the details and all, I need the full picture here. What kind of shit do you have on your plate right now?"

The smile on her face finally fell.

"I'm a busy woman, y'know. Because of work, I'm not home very often, so my daughter..." Summer paused, as if making sure that Ruby was nowhere near to hear what she was going to say. "...she tends to get pretty lonely without me. My neighbours are the same case, so their kids usually ends up crashing over at my house to keep her company."

Terumi raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. "So what's the problem? She's not alone now, that's good isn't it?"

Summer gazed to the side. "I get really worried when it comes down to their safety while at work, and I rarely get a chance to call to make sure that they're doing okay, so I need an adult to watch over them. Just...to make sure that they don't end up burning anything..." She scratched the back of her head and chuckled. "Last time, they somehow managed to break my oven by heating up a large watermelon for...'scientific research', as they put it. I am honestly clueless as to where they got that idea..."

Terumi winced.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that you're able to picture how that all went down in the end," Summer said. She turned around and started walking again, and Terumi had no other choice but to follow her. "It was a good oven too. A shame I had to throw it out."

"I get where you're going with this, but where do I fit in all this?" Terumi asked with genuine curiosity. "From the looks of it, you're making it sound like you need me to-"

"Bingo." Summer snapped her fingers, just as they entered the living room to see Ruby drawing something on a large piece of paper with her large collection of crayons. "Mister Yuuki Terumi, the job I'm offering you is quite simple." She folded her arms and grinned. "Take care of Ruby and the other kids, so that means..." She paused for dramatic effect. "...you'll be working for me as the kids' caretaker!"

"What!?" Terumi bellowed.

Right at the same time, the front door was busted open, and soon entered Raven, who seemed to be holding a sheepish-looking Kval by the cape. "Hell no!" she exclaimed.

Summer gasped. "R-Raven!?"

Raven stomped her way over to the living room, gave a small wave to a confused Ruby with the same hand which held Kval, and later pointed her long blade at Terumi's throat. "There is no way in hell am I going to let this... _thing_ , watch over my kid! Just look at him! He practically reeks of bad news!"

"Hey!" Terumi shouted, feeling _extremely_ offended. "I'm right over here, you damn woman! And put my brother down!"

Raven gently set Kval down onto one of the nearby sofas, surprisingly, and immediately turned to Terumi. She moved a hand over to her face and lowered her sunglasses, revealing her crimson orbs for the entire world to see. "Watch your tongue, asshole," she warned.

Terumi loosened his tie and pulled out a knife from his sleeve. "Or what?" he challenged.

"Why are you all fighting?" Ruby asked innocently, clueless. Her eyes then wandered over to the cloak-wearing man, and almost instantly a large grin broke out. "Hey! It's the suspicious person!" she exclaimed.

Terumi blinked a couple of times. He turned away from Raven and focused his eyes on a cheerful-looking Ruby, who then seemed to be staring at the knife he was holding. "Would you mind explaining to me the reason why you decided to call me that?"

"Well..." Ruby scratched the back of her head with her face flushed, but her grin remained in place, however. "...I don't know your name, so I guess I'll be calling you Suspicious Person from now on! Oh, and can I take a look at your knife?" she asked.

"Uh..." Terumi tilted his head to one side. "What?"

Summer sighed. "Ruby, that's quite rude. He has a name, y'know. And please don't ask about his weapon right off the bat. That's...also rude."

"Sorry..." Ruby meekly apologised.

"It's fine, and Raven!" Summer turned to the woman, who seemed to be standing right behind Terumi while holding a small black plastic bag right above his head. "Don't even think about it," she warned.

"Tch..." Raven grumbled something under her breath as she moved away.

"Wha...?" Terumi turned around, and his eyes immediately widened at the sight of Raven being all up-close and personal. He stepped back in instinct, sweating profusely. "Holy shit! What the hell were you plotting you wench!?"

"Your demise," Raven answered with a raised brow, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What else?"

Summer facepalmed. She could already feel a headache making its way to her head. "Raven. Please."

Terumi narrowed his eyes. "I _really_ don't like you," he stated with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Raven smirked. "Same here."

"Okay, that's enough. Raven," Summer glared at her friend. She then pointed a finger to her front door, which was heavily damaged at this point all thanks to Raven. "time for you to go. We'll discuss this later. With Tai."

"You're going to hire this guy no matter what, aren't you? I can see that look in your eyes, Summer," Raven said. She clicked her tongue and looked away. "Know what? Fine. I doubt I'll be able to change your mind anyway. The little kid over there explained everything." She gestured to Kval, who was currently sitting on the sofa, later joined by a cheerful Ruby. "Tai was reluctant at first, but in the end he allowed it. I, for one, am against the idea. But seeing that this is you who I'm up against..." Raven sighed. "I think it's better if I were to just admit defeat right away."

Summer pouted. "How should I take that?"

Raven flicked her on the forehead. "A compliment, an insult, however you like. It's just so unbelievable how stubborn you can be sometimes. I'll be the first to admit that it's annoying, but even so...it's better if you stay that way."

Despite what she said, Raven found herself smiling.

"A compliment it is then," Summer decided, giggling soon after.

"Yeah yeah..." Raven chuckled. "Well, seeing that I have no business here anymore, I'll be going now. And I'll be sure to tell Tai about your door later." She scratched her cheek. "Sorry about that..."

Summer giggled. "It's no problem."

"Noted." Raven nodded. And with that, she made her way to the door.

But not before sending one last glare to Terumi, much to the man's displeasure. "Don't even think that I'll start treating you as a friend the next time we meet," she warned. "Keep that in mind."

"Tch," was Terumi's simple reply.

Summer smiled slightly as she gazed at Raven, who was currently in the middle of stepping out the door in order to leave the house. _Even after all these years, you're still the same Raven I know, along with Tai. Unlike..._

A small frown took over her face at the mere thought.

"She's a piece of work, isn't she?" a certain someone commented with a blank expression.

"She is, but she's honestly not all that bad when you get to know her better," Summer explained.

Terumi scoffed. "Like I'd take the chance when I see one..." he grumbled.

Summer, ignoring the fact that he'd just said that, turned to him and stared. She kept her silver eyes locked onto his serpentine ones, piercing him with her gaze. Believe it or not, seconds later Terumi started feeling uneasy. "I'm going to go straight to the point, Mister Yuuki Terumi. Will you accept my offer?" she asked in a quiet and yet serious voice, before adding, "Keep in mind that it's okay to refuse. I'm not forcing anyone."

Terumi found himself breaking eye contact at the question. He bit down on his lower lip as thousands of thoughts raced through his mind.

Working as a caretaker was not really what he had in mind. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he actually wanted to work as one! It just...wasn't his thing, in his honest opinion. Sure he could handle himself when it came down to working as a cashier, but a caretaker?

No way in hell.

 _I don't think I can do this. Besides, I'd probably end up killing the kids on my first day..._

Right now, he was really starting to consider the idea of rejecting the offer. Honestly, it was for the best. He could see nothing good coming out of it, anyway.

 _Well..._

However, after sparing his younger sibling a brief glance, who's currently chatting with Summer's daughter regarding the picture she drew with her crayons, he started having second thoughts regarding his decision.

For some odd reason.

"So to make a drawing look nicer, I shouldn't put too much pressure on my crayons?" Ruby asked, staring up at a nervous-looking Kval with her large, innocent eyes.

"U-Um..." Kval scratched the back of his head while his cheeks reddened, obviously embarrassed at the fact that a cute girl was sitting right next to him. He was never quite used to conversing with girls of around his age, after all, so one can say that he was somewhat inexperienced. "Y-Yeah. Kind of."

Terumi clicked his tongue.

 _What the hell am I doing?_

"When do I start?"

Not quite expecting that, Summer blinked. _Twice_. "W-What?"

Terumi widened his eyes upon realising what he'd just said. He then slapped a hand over his mouth, sweating bullets.

 _Oh fuck! Why did I say that!?_

"You'll...do it?" Summer asked, as hope started to fill her silver eyes.

 _Aw hell..._

Terumi didn't know why, but he couldn't really find it in himself to say no to the face Summer was making, especially with the huge amount of hope her eyes were showing. It would've been too cruel, even for his standards.

So he nodded.

From how he saw it, there was no going back now. It was already too late for that.

 _Damn it._

"Don't make me regret my decision, woman," Terumi muttered, his eyes wandering elsewhere. "I guess I'll be taking that offer of yours after all..."

Summer's smile was so bright and genuine, that Terumi couldn't help but find it to be sickening.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review if you enjoyed the fourth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	5. Special 001

**Why hello there, my fellow readers!**

 **Have a special while I work on the fifth chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **I do not own anything.**

 **-IIXII-**

Just when he was about to take off his red jacket, his scroll, which was on the table, started to vibrate.

Raising an eyebrow, Ragna rose from his couch and, moving around Saya who was busy drawing a picture of herself along with her two older brothers on the floor, walked over to the table. He picked up his scroll, answered the call, and held it up closely to his ear.

Which he soon regretted doing.

 _"Raggy Boy!"_

It was Terumi, and he was practically assaulting his ear.

Wincing, Ragna closed an eye and kept his scroll device away from his ear, only to bring it close once more when his ear was done recovering itself.

"Dude, the hell is your problem!? And quit being so damn loud or I'll hang up!" Ragna said as his eyes, which were filled with annoyance, narrowed ever so slightly. "I'm not planning on going deaf at this day and age, now spill it. What do you want?"

 _"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway! I need you to do me a solid and buy me something at the grocery store! Y'know, the one where I usually go to in order to buy all my stuff? It's important!"_ Terumi said. He sounded a bit...stressed out and frantic, for some reason. _"There's a bargain sale going on today, so you don't have to worry about spending too much!"_

"Huh?" Ragna furrowed his brows. "And _why_ am I going? Do it yourself, jackass. You got a pair of legs with a pair of balls hanging in between them don't you?"

 _"I can't because I'm at work! For hell's sake I'll pay you back, so quit bitching!"_ Terumi growled. _"I just need you to buy me eggs, salmon, strawberries, apples, chocolate bars, and-"_ The sound of what seemed to be someone slamming their fist down onto a table interrupted, cutting him off. _"What? Ice cream? Are you out of your mind!? You can't have ice cream for-"_ Another slam. _"Okay, y'know what? Fine! Go and have ice cream for dinner. See if I care!"_

Ragna stared at his scroll with a dumbfounded expression. _Since when did he get another job?_ He then set it right next to his ear again and slowly called out, "Hello?"

 _"Add ice cream to the list, Raggy,"_ Terumi answered, his voice sounding tired. _"And also anything else that you can find that's healthy. Just..."_ A small pause. _"...hurry up and get the hell over here. They're driving me nuts, and I'll go insane if they won't stop complaining about dinner."_

"Who are you talking about?" Ragna found himself asking as he, after patting Saya on the head and smiling down at her, went to the door. Not lying or anything, but curiosity was starting to get the better of him. Ragna stopped and took a second to stare at Blood-Scythe, and in the end decided to take it with him just in case.

 _"Not important,"_ Terumi muttered, and Ragna had no other choice but to leave it at that. The tone in his voice left no room for more questions. _"Anyway, I want to tell you a thing or two about the grocery store where you'll be heading. Oh, and you better be out the door while we're talking or else I'm going to lose my shit."_

With a sigh, Ragna opened the door and stepped outside of his apartment room. "Done that." He sent Saya one last smile, which she gladly returned, right before shutting the door. "Now what is it?"

 _"Just wanna tell you to watch out for the other customers. The store's having a bargain sale, after all,"_ Terumi explained, sounding a bit like an expert. _"They tend to take...extreme measures in order to get what they want, so be careful. Oh, and don't let them damage my goods. It may sound easy, but don't be fooled. Always remember to keep your guard up."_

"Hey!" Ragna shouted, surprising the people around him as he walked his way towards his destination. Not like he gave a damn anyway. "Just what in the hell am I getting myself into!? You're making it sound like a battle's gonna happen! What's the deal here!?"

 _"The deal?"_ Terumi chuckled, and Ragna could tell that the asshole was secretly taking joy in listening to him shouting out his voice to the heavens like a man giving birth to rocks. The asshole. _"Well, let's just say...that there are a lot of possibilities. A large number of things can happen once you enter the store, so I wish you luck."_

And just like that, Terumi ended the call.

Ragna glared at his scroll. Not wanting to lose his cool and break the device by accident, he kept it away and took deep breaths.

Only for him to start cursing moments after.

"Damn that asshole. Why can't he just be specific for once?" Ragna kicked a small pebble out of the way as he walked, grumbling more and more nonsense under his breath. The people around him received the message quite clearly and made sure to stay out of his way, lest they'd get beaten to a pulp.

Good thing right now the grocery store was just across the street, or else he would've had a hard time resisting the urge to break something in order to release some steam from his system.

So after a few seconds of walking as well as grumbling out curses to his heart's content, Ragna finally found himself standing right in front of the store's entrance. He stepped inside like it's nobody's business and took a look around. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary.

And despite having a bargain sale, the store was...unusually quiet. It's like he was the only one there.

Weird.

"I'm guessing that the store's not really popular with the people around here. But still, the hell was Terumi on about?" Ragna had a sinking suspicion that Terumi was playing around with his mind, like he always did. The bastard. Cursing aside though, he still had a job to do. "Well, there's no use standing around like an idiot. Better start now before I start regretting all this," Ragna told himself.

Grabbing one of the store's shopping baskets, Ragna then went to the section where the fruits were located at. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, however, when he got a good look at the prices.

"Holy Hades! The fruits here are cheap as hell! It's no wonder why Terumi always ends up murdering his wallet every weekend!" Ragna exclaimed. He allowed his eyes to roam over the price tags of each fruit, his eyes widening more and more by the second. "Damn. If I'd known about this place sooner I would've been a regular customer." He smiled. "Man, where do I even start? And I should probably get a thing or two for Saya while I'm here. Heh."

"See what you like, Brother?"

Ragna drew Blood-Scythe in an instant and jumped to the side, just in time to see an ice blade crashing itself into the spot where he once stood. With a low growl, he turned to where it came from, and what met his eyes soon made his blood boil.

"Jin!"

There he stood, all comfortable in that NOL uniform he so greatly despised. The only thing missing was his weapon, but Ragna knew that it was with him. Somewhere.

Jin Kisaragi. His younger brother.

"Mind telling me what you're doing here?" Ragna spat. He tightened his grip around Blood-Scythe. Knowing Jin, the bastard probably had something hidden up his sleeve.

"Deary me, is it not obvious?" Jin asked in a teasing manner. A glare was sent his way, and in return he chuckled. "I'm shopping. The store's having a bargain sale, after all." He lifted up the basket he was carrying for Ragna to see, proving his point. "I would love to settle things with you, dear Brother, but I am afraid now is not the best time. As you can see, I am unarmed, so please lower that blade of yours."

"If that's the case, then why bother attacking me in the first place?" Ragna growled.

"I just wanted to see if your skills have rusted," Jin answered. "Now please, lower your blade. We are all civilised people here, are we not?"

Ragna narrowed his eyes, hesitant, but in the end he decided to lower Blood-Scythe. He had no intention of keeping his weapon away, however. There was actually no telling what Jin might do to him the moment he would start lowering his guard.

"What are you after?" Ragna asked.

"Ah, small talk. I see." Jin smirked at the annoyed look on his brother's face. "Well to answer your question, nothing much. I just want those strawberries over there."

 _Strawberries?_ Ragna looked to where he had been standing just mere moments ago, and only then did he realise that he had been standing in the way of all the strawberries. _How come I didn't see that? And wait a minute, did he just say...all of them?_

"Apparently," Jin started walking over towards his goal. "you were in the way, so-"

"Jin, I honestly don't know about you, but I'm afraid I can't let that happen," Ragna interrupted. He casually went back to his previous spot, once again standing in the way of the strawberries. "These strawberries are mine, so I think it's best for you to back off."

Jin froze, his eyes narrowed, then the entire store went cold. The smirk on his face was long gone.

"Are you challenging me?"

Ragna glared at him. "You wanna go at it?"

Jin dropped his shopping basket and called forth his blade, Yukianesa. "I didn't want to do this, Brother. Just remember that you forced me to."

"Cut the crap, Jin. I can tell that you were itching for a fight from the very beginning, so now's your chance." Ragna didn't know why, but he suddenly found himself grinning. It probably had something to do with them fighting over something so simple, like the strawberries for example. _Huh._ Did he feel...excited? He couldn't be, could he? Was fighting over something so simple that exciting?

The words of a certain jackass crossed Ragna's mind, which soon made him give out an amused chuckle.

"So this is one of the 'possibilities', huh." Ragna entered a fighting stance as he eyed Jin, who seemed to be doing the same as ice started to slowly materialize all around him. He was preparing for an attack, no doubt. "In that case, all I have to do is beat this one up!"

Just then, an explosion went off, which came from one of the nearby sections containing countless of the store's items. Seconds later a person wielding a long red katana with black and bleached blond hair came running out of the smoke, passing by an undeterred Jin all the while carrying a shopping basket filled with multiple items. He was grinning cockily for some reason.

Too bad he was blasted aside by a wave of lightning, courtesy of some guy with gray hair who was also wielding a katana.

The two teenagers were having their own fight, from the looks of it.

Ragna, who was now grinning from ear to ear at the sight of others battling around him, pointed Blood-Scythe at his younger brother and called out, "Come at me, Jin!"

 **-IIXII-**

 **New characters!**

 **Yu Narukami - 17**

 **Hyde Kido - 17**

 **The hype for BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is real. Monty Oum would be crying a river of joy right about now. May the talented man rest in peace.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	6. Rainy Days And Annoying Detectives

**Welcome to the fifth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I apologise for the long wait. Like always, life is pretty hectic around here.**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Indeed I did, and I'll buy the rest of those ideas if you don't mind. And let's face it, Raven meeting Terumi was bound to happen at some point. That being said, can you guess why Jin needed those strawberries in the previous special?**

 **Frank Horrigan: So some of 'em are considered dangerous? Well, I'll be sure to add in a reference to that in the coming chapters. And take it easy on the cheap fruits now!**

 **Reviews aside, let us begin!**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"This is it."

Terumi watched with bated breath as the house towered over him like an intimidating giant. Despite having second thoughts about all this, he somehow managed to hold his ground instead of running off to who knows where in order to purposely get himself fired on his very first day of work as a damn caretaker.

Though, it probably had something to do with Kval eyeing him from behind with his arms crossed. With the serious look plastered across his face, it was clear that he literally had no intention of letting his older brother escape. The strict brat.

"So uh..." Terumi turned to his younger brother, doing a poor job at hiding the fact that he was nervous, which was a rare occurrence. If Kval wasn't so serious at the moment, he'd be laughing. "...what now?"

Kval cocked an eyebrow. "Are you really going to ask me that? Just go to the door and announce your presence. It is as simple as that."

Terumi moved his gaze over to the front door of the house as if it was something out of a horror movie, not that he was afraid of horror movies or anything. The thing just looked ugly. Yeah, that's it. "Right..." he muttered.

"Go on," Kval encouraged, smiling. "The door's not going to hurt you, Brother."

"I am well aware of that..." Terumi growled, sparing Kval a brief glare as he did so. He stared at the door for a couple of seconds and, figuring that standing around like an idiot would get him nowhere, decided to make his way over. Each step he took was more faster than the last, and he also wasn't aware of the fact that his teeth were clenched, which was probably because he was still unsure of what he was doing. "Screw it." Terumi quickly reached for the door and-

"I'm so late!"

"Gah!" Terumi found himself staggering back when the door slammed into his face. He hissed, not quite noticing the surprised gasp which came a second later. _So much for trusting Kazuma's words,_ he muttered internally with his hands covering his face. He cracked open an eye, and nearly jumped when Summer's face, which was dangerously close to his own and filled with concern, entered his line of sight. "Give me back my personal space, woman!" he shouted, his voice muffled up thanks to his hands.

"Eep!" Summer jumped and stepped back, wide-eyed. About a second later she put up a sheepish smile, and said, "I-It's good to see that you're not badly hurt. I'm sorry for hitting you with the door, Mister Yuu-"

"Terumi," Terumi interrupted, his eyes half-lidded. "Just Terumi is fine."

"R-Right." Summer nodded. "Anyway, I'm sorry for hitting you with the door. I didn't really mean to do that." She looked to the entrance of her house. "My daughter's in the living room, and her friends aren't here yet, so be sure to greet her once you're inside. I'm currently late for work as you can tell, so I have to rush."

"Got it." Terumi nodded. He uncovered his face and made an attempt to move right past the young woman so that he could enter her house, only to stop himself when a thought occurred to him. "Oh yeah, when are you coming back?"

"Around 12 AM."

Terumi's eyes widened. "Say what!?" He turned to Summer, and was miffed to see a handful of white rose petals drifting through the air around the spot where she had been standing. She was already gone, from the looks of it. "Shit..." Terumi massaged his forehead, cursing himself over and over internally. "Why the hell did I not ask that woman yesterday...?"

Damn. He was suffering from a headache already. Maybe he should've just stayed in his apartment and-

"I'll be heading to the grocery store to buy us some snacks," Kval announced from his spot, grinning. "I'll meet you back here in about half an hour, so be sure to not damage the house while I'm gone."

"Shut up, brat. And don't talk to strangers!" Terumi waved at his little brother, who in return waved back, and proceeded to enter the house before closing the front door behind him. He sighed. Remembering what Summer had told him, he made his way over to the living room, and the first thing he landed his eyes upon was Ruby drawing something in her drawing book with a red crayon. It appeared that she wasn't aware of his presence, judging by how concentrated she looked with whatever she was drawing. "Yo," he greeted.

Ruby looked over at Terumi, and immediately grinned widely the moment she saw him. She waved at him in a cheery manner, the red crayon still in her grip. "Hi!" she greeted back.

Terumi stared at her. And stared. And stared. And stared.

Ruby tilted her head to one side, puzzled no doubt. "What's wrong, Suspicious Person?" she asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just..." Terumi allowed his eyes to wander around the living room for a bit, only for him to settle them back onto the little girl who was sitting on the floor directly in front of him later on. "...I honestly don't know what I should be doing. And the name's Terumi. Get it right."

Ruby tilted her head further, eyeing the now-employed man with her innocent eyes. "Well...what _should_ you be doing?"

Terumi, not knowing how to respond, simply shrugged at the question.

"Huh." Ruby frowned slightly, but then a smile found its way up to her face. "Why not start by watching some shows on TV? Mom always does it when she's done cleaning the house!" she suggested.

 _Can I?_ Terumi found himself asking internally, eyebrow raising.

He was clearly clueless as to what he was supposed to be doing as a caretaker, but despite that he made his way over to the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV as if it was his own. A cooking show appeared on screen and-

"What the hell am I doing!?" Terumi shouted out to the heavens above much to Ruby's surprise, clutching at the sides of his head as he did so. He went to his feet, turned off the TV, dropped the remote on the couch, and started pacing around in the living room while sweating profusely. "I mean, how the hell did I even end up in this situation!? Gah! I should be out there looking for another job that doesn't have anything to do with watching over a group of kids! Something like...sitting inside a grocery store, or...something! Not _this_! That being said, why am I even doing this!?" he ranted and ranted, making him look like a retarded asshole who expected the Goddess of Death herself to come get him in order to end everything. "I should just quit this crappy job and find a new one! Something that...something that suits my taste better!"

And so right after he was done exploding, silence started to fill up the living room.

Terumi was willing to bet his left nut that Ruby was now afraid of him thanks to his sudden outburst, and yet he wouldn't be surprised if he'd see her running up the stairs with tears in her eyes in the next few seconds. He rarely gave a crap when it came to others, and Ruby was no exception.

But then...

"Why don't you?" Ruby asked in a curious and innocent voice, blinking a couple of times soon after.

Terumi froze.

Now that was a _very_ good question. Why couldn't he?

"That's..." Terumi trailed off, unsure how to respond to the girl's innocent question.

Nothing was holding him back from quitting, so why couldn't he? In fact, he could give Summer a call right now and end things! And not to mention that doing so would finally put his mind at ease.

But still...something didn't feel right. It's like he was forgetting something. And maybe that something was-

Oh yeah. He had a terrible habit of picking fights with his employers, which would always end up with him not getting whatever jobs he'd been able to get his hands on. Kinda explained everything there. And even if he _did_ able to get a job, then expect him to get fired in less than a week.

Well...at least Summer was nice.

Terumi sighed and sat back down on the couch. He picked up the discarded remote, observed it for a little while, and later turned on the TV. He stared at the screen with half-lidded eyes, unfocused, and found himself muttering, "That's a pretty good question there, kid. I'll be sure to answer it once I've got my answer..."

Ruby looked up at him with clueless eyes, before grinning widely in a cheerful manner. It was apparent that she was unaware that Terumi was now troubled, all thanks to her innocent question alone. "Okay then!" she exclaimed.

Terumi said nothing in return as he stared at the TV, not quite enjoying what was currently on.

 _From the looks of it...I guess I really am stuck with this job._

 **-IIXII-**

The sound of thunder tore through the silence of the whole area, scaring the hell out of little kids who were walking around in said area, along with a few adults here and there.

All except for one.

"It's going to rain soon, it seems," Kval noted as he stepped out of the grocery store, gazing up at the darkening clouds above. He then moved his gaze down onto the paper bag he was carrying, only for him to frown moments later. "Without an umbrella, I don't think I can last long in the rain."

"Is something the matter, little guy?"

"Eh?" Kval turned to where the voice originated from. "Pardon?"

A man with unkempt black hair in a black suit with a white long-sleeved shirt towered over him, who appeared to be smiling for no actual reason. The man, whose name was currently unknown, took a brief moment to examine Kval up and down with his gray eyes, and later started adjusting his red tie as a small chuckle escaped his lips.

"You look a bit troubled there, so I couldn't help asking," the man said.

"Oh." Kval scratched his cheek at that, smiling somewhat. "Well thanks. It's pretty uncommon for people to do that nowadays."

The man nodded in agreement. "I get what you mean. People these days are...pretty much rude to one another." He held out a hand towards Kval, his smile now replaced with a small grin. "I'm Adachi. Nice to meet you, kid."

"Mister Adachi. I see." Kval shook hands with the man and chuckled, being polite as ever. "I'm guessing you know who I am, so I'm going to ask this now." His grip around the man's hand tightened ever so slightly, as the look on his face revealed nothing but hostility. "What do you want? There're a lot of other things you're better off doing, _Mister Detective_ , rather than speaking to little children in broad daylight. I know a scheming rat when I see one." Underneath his bangs, his serpentine eyes sharpened. "Whatever information you want, I don't have it."

Adachi's grin quickly fell, and it was soon replaced once more with the smile from earlier. "Calm down there, kid. I was just actually going to offer you my umbrella and talk a bit," he explained, and later held out his black umbrella with his free hand to prove his point. "You got time?"

Kval narrowed his eyes as he pulled his hand away, then nodded. "Not much, but I'll spare a few minutes. It's better to be polite about this rather than not."

Adachi, wincing as he gazed at his pained hand, closed his eyes and released a nervous chuckle. "Thanks..."

Moments later, the two found themselves sitting inside a small café located somewhere near the grocery store, right next to a window. The air was tense, and Adachi couldn't help but sweat profusely when Kval started to stare at him intently from across the table.

"S-So uh..." Adachi scratched the back of his head and laughed. "...order anything you like. I got enough money to last me a week so...go ahead. Haha..."

Despite the offer, Kval continued to stare at him, much to the detective's dismay.

"N-No? Okay then..." Adachi smiled nervously.

"Get to the point, Mister Detective," Kval said, or better yet, _demanded_. "I said I would only spare you a few minutes, not a full decade, so I suggest you get along with it, lest I leave right now. I have a busy life, just so you know."

Adachi sighed. "Alright, I'll get to the point. It's about your brother."

"So you _do_ know me," Kval noted.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here," Adachi said, frowning. "Anyway, since you're the only one I know who's close to Mister Yuuki Terumi, I figured that I'd ask you a few questions regarding...certain matters."

Kval raised an eyebrow. "And what matters do you speak of?"

"Murder cases," Adachi replied, and later found himself screaming when a butterfly knife stuck itself onto their table, much to the surprise of every single customer inside the café.

"Well," Grabbing his paper bag, Kval rose up from his chair, dusted off his clothes, and later spared the detective a brief glance. "it seems to me that you got the wrong person for this." He turned around and walked off. "Keep your umbrella, and feel free to have that knife as a souvenir. Have a good day, Mister Detective."

Adachi stared as Kval made his way out of the café, sweating bullets. He gulped. "That's Terumi's brother for you..." He jumped a bit when his mobile device vibrated inside his pocket, which ended with him blushing in embarrassment. "Stupid. Getting scared by your own gadgets is not a good thing for a detective..." Pulling out the device, Adachi answered the call and held it up to his ear. "Hello? Oh, Captain! I was just on my way back, actually. Y'see..."

 **-IIXII-**

"Just because he was a troublemaker in the past doesn't mean he killed anyone," Kval grumbled, annoyed. "That's the fourth detective this month. Are they too afraid to personally meet with my brother to the point where they have to go to me for information? And why do they assume that my brother has anything to do with these recent murder cases anyway?" He shook his head. "I can never fully understand these people. They can be really annoying when they want to be, it seems."

"Hey you there!" a cheerful and yet familiar voice called out. "Wait up!"

Before Kval even had a chance to turn his head around to see who it was, he was nearly knocked to the ground when someone tackled him from behind. He yelped, and this time he made sure to turn his head around fast enough before anything else could happen, just in time to see a pair of lilac eyes staring into his own serpentine ones.

"Hello!"

"Uwaah!" Kval quickly stepped back from his attacker, only to lower his guard upon noticing that it was just Yang.

Along with her mother, Raven Branwen.

Kval quickly went rigid, and later held onto his cape when the memory of him being carried around by the woman resurfaced inside his head. "M-Miss Branwen. H-Hi," he greeted in a nervous manner, sweating slightly.

Raven eyed the child through her sunglasses, nodding in return soon after. "Where are you heading?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Yang added, grinning widely.

"To...my brother's workplace?" Kval answered, and yet it sounded more like a question than an answer.

Raven folded her arms. "I see. He's working as a caretaker today. Tch...that condescending asshole..." she grumbled.

Kval chuckled nervously. _I take it that she doesn't like my brother very much..._

Raven sighed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm just going to grab some grub before I head home to prepare myself for work." She turned to her daughter. "Yang, be a good girl and follow this little guy. He's heading to Summer's house, same as you, so I don't see any reason why you shouldn't follow him."

Kval blinked. "Eh?"

"Okay!" Yang exclaimed. "If he asks, I'll be sure to tell Dad that you're out eating!"

"Alright then." Raven nodded. "Later."

Kval silently watched as Raven walked off to who knows where without a care in the world, before turning to a certain blonde who kept poking at his arm nonstop. He frowned. "I take it that...you'll be following me?"

"That's what Mom told me," Yang replied.

"Deary me..." Kval sighed. "Oh well, it's not like you're going to hurt anyone. Come on then." He allowed a smile to settle itself onto his face as he started walking. "I know it's rude to ask this, but what was your full name again?"

"It's okay!" Yang went to his side and followed him. "And it's Yang Xiao Long. I know it's a mouthful, so I'm sorry if you're having trouble with-"

"Yang Xiao Long, is it?" Kval repeated the name with ease, much to Yang's surprise. He cupped his chin and hummed, thinking deeply. "Well it _is_ a bit difficult, but I'll get used to it somehow. We'll be seeing each other far more often starting today, anyway, so I'm sure I'll get used to it."

Yang grinned. "Good luck with that. Just don't start practicing by muttering my name over and over before hitting the hay every night, okay? I'll avoid you if you do."

"N-Now why in the world would I do that?" Kval asked, his eyes wandering elsewhere. "In fact, I can't even picture myself doing that..."

Yang giggled. "I wasn't serious, Kazuma. It's supposed to be a joke."

"A-Ah. A joke." Kval nodded. "So that's what it was..."

Yang looked to Kval and found herself frowning. "You're not the joking type, are you?"

"Well," Kval shrugged. "I tend to take things quite literally, and I pretty much have little experience when talking to people around my age, especially girls. Maybe it's because I'm a shut-in who's been dealing with adults day after day for the past few years, but I don't know."

"So you don't go out much." Yang furrowed her eyebrows. "But what about school? There're a lot of girls in school, and surely you've spoken to some, a few at least."

Kval chuckled. "I won't talk in school if I don't have to. And the teachers? Don't get me started. They act as if I'm not even there because I blend in too well with the background. I guess you could basically call me a loner."

"Sounds lonely," Yang commented with a frown.

Kval genuinely laughed, not bothered by the topic they were discussing. "Well that's a loner for you," he said.

Yang's frown deepened. She was about to ask him how it felt like to be in school with no one to talk to, but the weather had other ideas. Before she and Kval knew it, rain started pouring down heavily onto the area mercilessly. Reacting quickly, Yang grabbed Kval by the wrist and pulled him along as she ran in the direction of their destination. "Let's go! There's no way I'm going to catch a cold for today. I won't lose to the rain that easily!" she declared, grinning all the while.

"W-Wait! Yang!" Kval yelped when he nearly tripped himself. "S-Slow down!"

"Slowing down in life will get you nowhere!" Yang declared with the most largest grin she could muster, looking at Kval over her shoulder.

All Kval could do was stare at her, before shaking his head. He made no effort to hide the tiny smile on his face, however. "I see..."

Seconds later, surprisingly, the two kids found themselves standing near the front door of Summer's house. The two were _way_ out of breath, if the way how they kept gulping down huge amounts of air was any indication.

"If I don't catch a cold..." Kval started, one hand on his knee as the other carried his slightly damaged paper bag. "...then I expect myself to pass out once I enter this house."

"Y-You...wimp..." Yang forced out a laugh, her grin not as large as it was before due to all the running from earlier. "But...with how I am right now, I guess I'm the same as you," she admitted.

"You're joking, right?" Kval chuckled. "I know for a fact that I can't run as fast as you. If you weren't dragging me back there, then I'd probably still be out there at the mercy of the rain." He opened the door of the house and gestured for his companion to enter, in which she did. He followed in seconds later. "First order of business, we should dry ourselves with something. A towel, maybe?"

"I'll grab 'em. You just head to the living room and say hello to Ruby for me," Yang said, smiling. "I'll only take a minute, so don't get too cold without me."

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Kval smiled in return, amused. "I honestly couldn't tell."

Yang said nothing but winked at him as she made her way to the stairs, climbing up soon after with the intention of grabbing herself a pair of towels.

Kval, remembering what Yang had told him, walked over to the living room with the intention of resting himself somewhere, only to gasp in surprise at the sight of Ruby sleeping soundly on his brother's lap, who appeared to be also sleeping. She was drooling from the looks of it.

"Was I gone that long?" Kval asked to no one in particular, noting the fact that the TV was on. Knowing his brother, he was probably bored out of his mind and decided to nap in order to pass the time, with Ruby joining him right after. "Huh. Well, that's one way to not damage the house," Kval commented.

"What do you mean by that?" Yang sounded as she entered the living room, carrying a pair of towels, just in time to see Ruby turning herself in her sleep on Terumi's lap. She blinked. "Well now...I wasn't expecting to see this when I came down."

Kval chuckled. "You tell me."

"Mm...boiled eggs...best girl..." Terumi mumbled, still asleep.

Yang and Kval took a brief moment to stare at Terumi, and soon after the two started laughing. They made sure to keep their voices down, thankfully.

 **-IIXII-**

 **What is this? A new character? From another series at that? Unbelievable!**

 **Adachi Tohru - 28**

 **This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided against it. Don't worry though, because Terumi's first day of work as a caretaker will continue where it's left off in the next chapter.**

 **Anyway, be sure to leave a review and point out any grammar mistakes if you see any. Thanks!**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	7. Special 002

**Have another special from me, my fellow readers.**

 **I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.**

 **-IIXII-**

"She's _fine_ , Raven. The guy may not look like it, but Summer's right about him being reliable."

"Your way of convincing others is terrible."

Tai sighed. His wife could be so overprotective at times, but that's what he loved most about her, along with some other things. Oh yeah. _Especially_ those other things. "You don't trust him, do you? C'mon, Raven. It's been nearly a month since then, and nothing's happened!"

"And maybe that's what he wants us to think!" Raven snapped. "He could be abusing Yang for all we know, and if so she probably hid all the marks and bruises so that we wouldn't take action!"

Tai shook his head, finding what his wife was saying to be something that was absolutely ridiculous. "Just how extreme can you get? Now you're just being silly."

"I am _not_ being silly!" Raven snapped, slightly pissed.

His wife was good when it came down to being stubborn, he'll give her that.

"Alright alright, you're not being silly. My bad." Tai scratched the back of his head and turned away with a roll of his eyes. "Now, seeing that you're worried sick, why don't we go and check up on Yang? We have a few minutes to spare before work starts, anyway."

"Fine." Raven took her sheathed blade from their dinner table and walked to their front door, intent on visiting Summer's house to see how her daughter was doing. "If I see him doing anything suspicious to our daughter, then I will not hesitate to cut him down."

Tai sighed. "I never did say anything about bringing your weapon along. What are you trying to do, commit murder in our neighbour's house?"

"Close," Raven answered.

"Raven!" Tai scolded as he quickly followed after her. His wife was beyond stubborn at times, and that large part of her hadn't changed one bit since their first meeting back in Beacon Academy. He wasn't sure if that was a bad thing _or_ a good thing. For now, he'll just have to go with both.

"I'm just being cautious about this," Raven calmly explained, stepping out of the house and was followed by her husband seconds later. She then quickly drew her long blade, much to Tai's chagrin. "Who knows what I'll see once I enter Summer's house. That asshole could be stealing her belongings without herself even noticing for heaven's sake!"

"If that happens, then let me handle it!" Tai exclaimed. "There is no need for unnecessary violence. Words are there for a reason, y'know. Now, make me proud by putting your weapon away. Please."

Raven shot her husband a sharp glare.

If Tai was anyone else right now, then he would probably be shitting bricks at the sight. But fortunately for him, after spending so many years of being with Raven, instead of a terrifying monster on the verge of going berserk, all he saw now was a grumpy woman who happened to be his wife.

Though Tai had to admit the fact that she looked cute whenever she was in a grumpy mood, but he made sure to keep that as a well-guarded secret lest his wife would murder him due to pure embarrassment.

"C'mon, make me proud here, Raven." Tai smiled. "I know you want to."

"Tch…" Raven, with a bit of pink dusting her cheeks, closed her eyes and then decided to keep her blade away, grumbling to herself as she did. Despite attempting to hide it, she knew that Tai knew she was embarrassed. Taiyang was her husband for a reason, after all. "Happy now?"

Tai opened his mouth to respond, only for him to jump in alarm later on when an explosion occurred somewhere inside Summer's house. "What the heck!?"

Raven quickly drew her blade once more, eyes narrowing. "I knew it!" Just when she was about to make her way over to the house and slice the front door to pieces, the sight of that very same door she had planned on destroying being blasted apart made her freeze, then soon after she was _even more_ confused when Terumi suddenly came running out of the house with his signature cloak up in flames. "What in the world…?" she found herself asking.

"Y-You're asking me," Tai responded, eyeing Terumi with worry evident in his eyes.

"Crap crap crap crap crap!" Terumi cursed repeatedly as he quickly took off his burning cloak, attempting to put out the fire by doing whatever he could with only his legs afterwards. "That brat! I do something nice for once, and all I get in return is an explosion to the face and a burning cloak!" he growled.

Tai and Raven cocked their eyebrows.

"That's what you get for touching my hair!" Yang shouted as she exited the house, all the while shooting a glare in her caretaker's direction with her bright red orbs.

"That's because Summer told me to comb your hair earlier today, you ungrateful nitwit!" Terumi retorted, pissed off no doubt. "Now look at what you've done to my cloak, _and_ the living room!"

"For your information, nearly everyone I know isn't allowed to touch my hair!" Yang clarified, pointing at him. "Not even Dad dares to touch my hair without my permission, so what makes you think that you're worthy enough?"

Tai released a nervous chuckle at that. "Yeah. I remember her first haircut…"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Well it was your fault for fooling her into thinking that you were going to give her a head massage," she pointed out.

"Worthy enough? So what you're saying is that I'm not worthy enough of touching your hair?" Terumi, with his cloak now fine but slightly damaged thanks to the fire from earlier, turned to the little blonde with a glare so intense that it would make even the toughest of men shit bricks and eggs for their own breakfast. Too bad Yang was on a completely different level, despite her age. "Are you _trying_ to challenge me?"

"What's the point?" Yang turned away and went back inside the house. "Besides, why would I even want someone like _you_ touching my hair, anyway? And I don't even want to know where your hands have been…"

"Hey!" Terumi quickly made his way back inside the house with the intention of chasing after the little yellow devil. "I'm going to comb your hair even if it's the last thing I do! You hear me!?" he declared.

And not long after his declaration, another explosion occurred.

"Should we like…make sure that they don't damage the house any further?" Tai asked, but after receiving no response he curiously turned to his wife, only to find that the woman was smiling to herself, oddly enough. "Raven?"

Raven chuckled. She then sheathed her blade, shaking her head ever so slightly soon afterwards. "My daughter has grown so much," she said, sounding genuinely proud.

Tai silently stared at his wife, before saying, "You're just satisfied to see our daughter giving him trouble, aren't you?"

 **-IIXII-**


	8. Special 003

**Go and have another special!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Let's watch a movie!" Ruby suggested with sparkling eyes, bouncing up and down due to excitement.

"I'm in!" Yang agreed in an instant. "I'll go get the pillows and blankets! Ooh! Can't forget about the snacks now!"

"Nope. Not gonna happen," Terumi quickly said from his spot on the couch, whom appeared to be reading a comic. He turned to a new page, then added, "It's late, and I don't want Summer to start nagging at me when she sees you four still up and running."

"Aw…" Ruby frowned.

Yang, on the other hand, shot Terumi a glare. "Come on! 11:54 PM doesn't count as late to me!" she argued.

"In a way, it does," Weiss sounded.

"Agreed," Blake added.

Yang turned to the black and white duo with a betrayed expression. "Traitors!" she shouted with a finger pointed in their direction. "I should have known better than to rely on you two!"

The two simply shrugged in response.

"Yeah," Kval came in and patted Yang on the shoulder, smiling slightly. "you should have. And that's why you have me."

Yang pouted as she turned to Kval, not quite understanding what he meant by that. "Meaning?"

"You'll see," Kval replied.

Ever so slowly, Terumi lowered his comic in order to get a good look at his little brother, and he was just in time to see the squirt shooting him a look that he was quite familiar with. So he sighed. "I know that look on your face quite well, Kazuma. What do you want?"

Kval grinned. "You know perfectly well what I want, Brother. Come on, let's go and watch something. Just one time with the girls wouldn't hurt. And if anything happens, I'll be sure to take responsibility," he said.

Ruby and Yang perked up in an instant, while Blake and Weiss looked to one another with unsure expressions.

"Is that so?" Terumi narrowed his eyes. He then lowered his comic and set it aside, before saying, "How do I know for sure that you're not lying to my face?"

Kval blew a raspberry at that. "When was the last time I've lied to you?" he countered.

Terumi squinted his eyes and eyed Kval for what felt like decades, only for him to sigh in the end upon realising that he could easily see through his brother's lies if he was actually lying. Living with Kval for the most part of his life had taught him a thing or two, such as the little guy's bad habit of playing with his hair whenever he was nervous, or how he tended to have that look on his face whenever he was unsure of something, along with a few more other things. In short, Terumi knew a lot of things when it came down to his little brother, and it was almost impossible for him to miss whatever that goes on in the little guy's mind whenever he didn't feel right.

"Fine." Terumi rolled his eyes, but he quickly made things clear by saying, "Just so you all know, I have no intention of moving an inch away from this spot so you're going to have to prepare all the pillows and snacks and whatnot yourselves. You hear me?"

Ruby grinned. "Okay!'

"Works for me!" Yang exclaimed, excited as ever.

Kval nodded. "Same."

Blake and Weiss, however, simply sighed at the turn of events. But despite not properly showing it, the two girls were actually feeling a little bit excited deep down inside, as much as they'd like to deny it.

"Well," Blake smiled. "I see no harm in joining them. You?" She turned to Weiss, expecting an answer.

"Hmp." Weiss rolled her eyes at Blake's question, as a small smile found its way to her lips. "Same, I guess," she said.

About 11:58 PM, everyone found themselves gathered on the couch, with Kval and Ruby all comfortable on Terumi's lap much to his annoyance, facing the TV. Blankets, pillows, snacks and whatnot littered around the couch, and to say that Ruby and Yang had prepared a bit too much was an understatement, but no one could blame the two for being overly excited. It was their first ever movie night, after all.

"So what are you kids watching?" Terumi found himself asking, purely out of curiosity.

Kval shrugged. "I'll just watch whatever they want."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Yang threw her hand in the air when an awesome movie she knew came to mind. "Let's watch Try Hard 2! I've heard a lot of awesome things about that movie!" she suggested.

Terumi scoffed. "I don't think you girls are old enough to watch that movie, so your idea is rejected. Next!"

Yang's grin fell. She soon quickly turned away with her arms crossed, grumbling to no one in particular soon after.

As for Blake, she silently began to think for a moment. Then after a brief while, she finally spoke. "How about we watch-"

"I'm not in the mood for movies which focuses on politics and other unnecessary crap, so next!" Terumi simply ignored the glare which was sent his way by Blake. He took note of Weiss opening her mouth to suggest her own idea, so him being a total dick, he quickly prevented that from happening by exclaiming, "Next!"

Weiss glared at him, but said nothing.

"Ooh!" Ruby sounded. "Let's watch something scary!" She turned her head and looked up at Terumi, an excited grin being displayed across her face. "Can we? It'll be fun, since we're all together like this!"

Terumi closed his eyes as he started giving some thoughts on Ruby's suggestion, cupping his chin as he did so. It took him nearly a minute to decide, but in the end he opened his eyes and shrugged, before nodding. "Well your idea's better than the others, so why not?"

"Yay!" Ruby brought both hands high up above her head, no doubt she was happy as well as excited.

"Yeah yeah. At least a horror movie isn't boring," muttered Terumi, rolling his eyes at that.

"Hey!" Yang, Weiss, and even Blake shouted at the same time, humorously enough, but Terumi being a total dick once more simply chose to ignore them, much to their displeasure.

"Deary me." Kval chuckled, amused. "There you go again, tormenting the girls…"

"Hm?" Terumi turned to Kval, not quite catching the words fast enough. "Did you say something?"

"Nope." Kval shook his head, a strange little smile on his face. "You're just hearing things, Brother."

"Huh." Terumi scratched his cheek as he stared at Kval for a moment longer, then soon after he began focusing his eyes on Yang, Weiss, as well as Blake. He pointed a finger in their direction and said, "While you're all sitting there like idiots, can one of you three go and turn off the lights? Watching a horror movie with the lights on isn't really my thing, unless you're all a bunch of spineless cowards."

Blake and Yang hardened their glares, but remained silent. The two knew what he was trying to make them do. Weiss, however…

"We are not!" she yelled, her short temper getting the better of her. She stomped her way over to where the switches were located at and turned off the lights, leaving the room in total darkness. She then huffed and made her way back to the couch, taking her spot next to Yang with her arms crossed.

"Wuss." Terumi snickered. With nothing else in mind, his arms started to wander around in the darkness for the TV's remote control, grumbling to himself as he took his time. He ended up lifting his eyebrows a bit when the TV was suddenly turned on, however, as it began displaying nothing but static. Puzzled, he looked to Blake. "You got the remote?"

Blake turned to him and shook her head, her expression revealing just how confused she was.

Terumi turned to Weiss and Yang this time, but the two shook their heads as well. It couldn't possibly be Ruby, since she'd been stationed on his lap the entire time, and the same also applied to Kval, so this literally left him with more questions rather than answers.

"Who the hell has the damn remote?" Terumi asked, genuinely confused as he stared at the TV. Just when he was about to move Ruby and Kval away from his lap so that he could start searching for the remote, he was immediately frozen in place when the sight of an arm slowly coming out of the TV came greeting his eyes. Without looking, Terumi could tell that the girls, along with his younger brother, were as shocked as he was.

The arm took its time moving around with seemingly no clear goal in mind, as if it was trying to feel where it was. Then without warning, _another_ arm came appearing out of the TV, which ultimately caused Ruby to let out a terrified squeak.

Terumi eyed the pair of arms with extreme caution, as he slowly reached for his left sleeve. But the moment he saw a head slowly poking itself out from the TV's static-filled screen a second later, he found himself frozen in place once more. And upon closer inspection, it appeared that the head itself actually belonged to a guy with unkempt hair which was dyed fawn in color, and one of the most interesting things Terumi noted was the headphones he had around his neck, along with the pair of glasses he was using.

"Is this the right place?" the unnamed guy asked to no one in particular, sounding genuinely confused. He moved his head around in order to get a better look at the place, only for his eyes to widen once he realised that he wasn't alone.

Terumi, Kval, Ruby, Yang, along with Weiss and Blake returned the mysterious guy's stare with their own. The expressions on the faces of Kval and Team RWBY were a mixture of pure shock, confusion, and utter terror, and the only best way to classify the one Terumi had on _his_ face was simply…'unreadable'. He may looked calm on the outside, but on the inside?

It was a different matter entirely.

Silence filled the living room as each and every one of them found themselves staring at one another. In fact, it was so quiet that not even the sound of them breathing was able to be heard.

Yes, it was _that_ quiet.

Well…

Until hell started breaking loose, anyway.

"Kyaaaah!" the four girls screamed at the top of their lungs, tossing harmless pillows at the TV with poor accuracy.

"What the fucking _fuck_!?" Terumi pulled out a handful of knives from his sleeves and swiftly threw them in the TV's direction, not even bothering to perfect his aiming.

Kval, following his older brother's example, pulled out a pair of butterfly knives from his pockets and threw them at the TV, but that didn't exactly stop him from throwing snacks as well when he had nothing else to throw.

"Uwaah!" the unnamed person paled at the sight of the knives, ignoring the pillows completely. He avoided a few of the sharp objects and, figuring that he didn't want to die early in life, quickly pulled himself back inside the screen, just in time to avoid the rest of the knives from digging into his face. Thus, leaving the room filled with a bunch of people screaming loudly as if the Day of Reckoning was right around the corner.

Fortunately, about half an hour later, each and every one of them seemed to have calmed down a bit.

And after the whole thing, no one even dared to bring it up in a conversation. Heck, Terumi even made a rule to _never_ watch a movie late at night ever again, all so that they could avoid the incident from repeating. He was absolutely strict about it too.

Too bad they lost the TV that night, and had to come up with an excuse just to keep a tired Summer off their backs.

To this day, the young Huntress was still puzzled as to how a game of tag ended up with the TV having a bunch of knives sticking into its screen, along with the stains which appeared to have originated from some of the snacks she'd bought.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Look! Another character appears!**

 **Yosuke Hanamura - 17**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	9. Murders And Stressful Working

**Welcome to the sixth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I truly apologise for the delay. My exams are right around the corner, so I won't be able to update much in the coming weeks like before. Again, I apologise.**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Yep! Adachi is going to get himself involved in all this. However, this story happens after the events of P4AU, so I guess you can say that he's a slightly changed man. Slightly. Still, it's good to see that you're excited about this. And I may add more characters from different games, but it'll take some time.**

 **The Emblem of Ice: Of course! I needed a detective for the story, then bam! Here he is! Good to see that you're interested about this.**

 **Frank Horrigan: Willie Pete!? You're willing to use Willie Pete on a harmless TV!? That's just extreme!**

 **GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus: It's cool. We all have busy lives here. It's the thought that counts, buddy. I'm just here waiting for the next update for your Grimmborn story.**

 **Saru: Haha! I'm glad to see that you find it to be funny!**

 **Now with those aside, let's read!**

 **I do not own anything.**

 **-IIXII-**

"This is the fourth time this week."

Adachi nodded. He took out a small notepad and started writing down some notes regarding the corpse near his feet, not minding the smell. "You can say that again." He moved a bit in order to examine the corpse from a different angle, squinting his eyes as he cupped his chin. "Hmm..."

Jin sighed. "Anything?"

Adachi hummed. He kept away his notepad and eyed the male corpse, particularly around the neck area. "From what I can tell, the murderer made sure to silence our friend here by slicing his neck open, though I can't say much about the hole in his gut. The only thing I can figure out is that he was attacked from behind, just like the previous ones we've discovered."

"I was talking about clues regarding our little murderer," Jin clarified, annoyed.

"In that case, no," Adachi answered, eyes closing. "And you're not the only one who's stressed out because of this. Were it not for this, I'd be drinking with Dojima right about now..."

"I care not for what you have planned for today, Adachi." Jin turned and walked off, intent on searching for possible clues nearby that would lead them to their little annoying murderer. The sooner he can get this investigation over with, the better. "Just keep searching."

Adachi shrugged at that. "Whatever you say. At least I'm getting paid for doing all this."

Jin spared the man a brief glance, as a thought occurred to him. "I find it odd why they are willing to do that, despite all the crimes you have committed in the past." He narrowed his eyes. "That aside, I suggest you to stop fooling around and take this seriously. I am in no mood for pointless jokes."

"Hey hey," Adachi smiled, though he had his back turned to his superior. "do keep in mind that I'm a changed man. Making me remember all that was a bit uncalled for, don't you think?"

"Hmp." Jin rolled his eyes. "Like I give a damn about you and your shitty feelings."

Adachi chuckled. "Now that's just painful."

 **-IIXII-**

"Sooo...what do you wanna do?"

Kval, who was in the middle of drying his hair with a towel, looked at Yang from the corner of his eyes, puzzled by the question itself. "What do you mean?" he asked back.

"I mean, we're both here..." Yang turned to him, and couldn't help but widen the size of her eyes when she got a good look at his own, which were usually hidden by his bangs. Shock. That's what she felt. "Uh..."

"Do I really look that weird to you?" Kval, figuring that his hair was dried enough, moved his towel away from his hair, allowing his long bangs to hide his serpentine eyes once more. "Well no matter. It's not like I mind or anything."

"N-No no, it's just..." Yang stared at him, still wide-eyed. "...I wasn't expecting to see your eyes today." Were it not for Kval's presence, then she would've probably punched herself as punishment for saying something so lame. "I-I mean..."

Kval laughed. "I understand. I can't really blame you for being so surprised, now can I? Anyway, thanks for preparing me that hot bath. After running around in the rain earlier today, I guess I can say that it's just what I needed."

"Yeah." Yang nodded, grinning. "And I guess we should thank the house for having two bathrooms instead of one."

Kval can honestly say that he wholeheartedly agreed with that statement of hers. With his polite nature, he probably would've allowed Yang to go first if the house had only one bathroom instead of two, and that would've taken forever for him to take his own turn. He was getting a bit lucky today, it seemed.

"Now," Kval cupped his chin. "what should we do?" He briefly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, noting that it was 7:33 PM. "We still have a lot of time, and..." He quickly snapped his fingers, eyes widening. "Oh yeah. Shouldn't Weiss and Blake be here? With that said, where are they even? It's getting quite late."

Yang shrugged. "I don't know. Those two usually arrive early, but seeing that they're late, I'm guessing that they're busy with chores or something."

"Chores?" Kval questioned. "What kind of chores are you-" He was suddenly interrupted when someone came knocking on the door. Kval turned to said door, spared a brief glance to a grinning Yang, and decided to walk his way over.

Opening the door, Kval was then greeted with the sight of Weiss and Blake staring back at him with their indifferent expressions. Despite hiding it fairly well, he managed to witness the slight surprise in their eyes, which was probably due to him answering the door rather than Ruby.

"Kazuma...Kval, was it?" Blake started, blinking a few times. "What are you doing here?"

Smiling nervously, Kval opened his mouth to speak.

"Haven't you guys heard?"

Only for him to end up getting interrupted by a certain blonde.

"Starting from today, we'll be having a caretaker!"

"What!?" Weiss exclaimed, eyes narrowing.

"That's...unexpected," Blake muttered, wide-eyed.

"Hahaha..." Kval scratched his head. "Y-You heard her..."

Weiss crossed her arms, not feeling quite happy after receiving the sudden news. She glared at Kval, and inquired, "What makes you qualified enough to be our caretaker? I mean, you are basically the same age as us for heaven's sake!"

"Eh?" Kval tilted his head to one side, lifting his eyebrows ever so slightly soon after. "Pardon for the correction, but I never did say anything about myself working as your caretaker."

Weiss' anger turned to confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It means that he's not the caretaker. Duh!" Yang said, rolling her eyes while she was at it. "Seriously Weiss, quit blowing yourself up in front of others for no reason."

In response, Weiss closed her eyes and turned away with a huff. "Whatever..." she grumbled.

"Then..." Blake raised an eyebrow, eyeing Kval. "...who _is_ our caretaker?"

"Why," Kval smiled. "that would be my older brother."

His smile quickly vanished, however, when a white glyph of sorts appeared near Weiss' hand.

 **-IIXII-**

 _Terumi laughed as he stomped his foot onto Cinder's head, eyeing the downed woman with satisfaction, and the pained look displayed across her face nearly gave him a boner for heaven's sake! This was what he'd always wanted. Oh how long it has been ever since he'd started wishing for this..._

 _For Cinder to finally know her place._

 _"You should know better than to remind me about the fucking rent, you little bitch," he said, sounding all high and mighty. Why? Because he can._

 _"M-My apologies. I-It won't happen again, I swear," she whimpered like an abused animal, her eyes not meeting her tormentor's for multiple reasons. Cinder attempted to move one of her hands near Terumi's foot with the intention of freeing herself, but was frightened immensely when he slapped it away._

 _"Move that filthy hand near my foot one more time and I'll end you, got that?" Terumi started adding pressure to the woman's head with his foot, grinning from ear to ear like a true sadist. He tilted his head when silence greeted him. "I don't hear an answer."_

 _Cinder mumbled something._

 _"What was that? I can't hear you, dammit!" Terumi growled._

 _Cinder slowly met his eyes with her own, and opened her mouth..._

"Wake up you dunce!"

Something hard and cold slammed into his gut, knocking the air from his lungs.

"Guha! What the fuck just hit me!?"

Terumi held his gut in a pained manner, wincing every now and again, before quickly focusing his attention on his attacker. He gritted his teeth and emitted a low growl, not because of the sight of a certain white-haired brat glaring at him which greeted his eyes. Oh no. Instead, it was because of that baseball bat made out of pure ice in the brat's hands.

Oh how he wanted to bash her head in with that fucking bat. Too bad his job didn't allow it.

"You midget! What was that for!?" he snarled.

"For slacking off!" Weiss answered, the ice bat in her hands vanishing without a trace moments later. She then scoffed. "I'm still unable to believe that you are our caretaker. A pretty lousy one at that."

"Lousy?" His left eye started twitching, no doubt due to the brat's insult.

"Precisely!" Weiss exclaimed. She gestured towards him with her hands, as well as gazing at him with a judgemental look in her icy orbs. "I mean, just look at yourself! Ugh. Do _not_ even get me started. I'd be wasting my breath!"

Were kids always like this?

Were they always seeking different ways to end their lives before reaching adulthood?

To him, it sure seemed like it.

"Just what the hell is your problem!?" Terumi made a move to raise himself up from the couch in order to tower over Weiss, but a certain girl wearing a red cloak didn't allow it. Despite all the commotion, Terumi was surprised to find little Ruby still asleep on his lap...and maybe a bit annoyed at the fact that she was drooling all over his trousers.

That's when it finally occurred to him.

 _Wait a second, when did she even fall asleep in the first place? Last thing I remember, she was drawing..._

Terumi furrowed his brows as he eyed Ruby, completely ignoring a fuming Weiss who was standing directly in front of him. It was clear that he was doing it on purpose.

"Don't ignore me!" the little bratty brat yelled. "I swear-"

If Weiss wasn't so close to him, then Terumi probably would've never been able to reach out and grab her by the head in the first place, cutting her off and, despite not wanting to admit it, frightening her. He gave the little brat an intense stare so intense that her face ended up turning whiter than it had ever been. Then, he slowly brought a finger to his lips as a sign for her to shut the hell up before he'd start doing something she might regret.

Weiss, wide-eyed and scared, nodded once and found her eyes moving down to the floor, avoiding his stare.

And with that, Terumi released Weiss' head and pulled his hand back to his side, his eyes moving over to Ruby, who was still sleeping.

Yang and Blake eyed the scene displayed before them with widened eyes, shocked and amazed at the same time. They wanted to say something, truly they both did, but unfortunately the scene was just so shocking that it made their brains stop functioning. Weiss was normally hard to deal with, and no one other than her sister could handle her, so seeing Terumi silencing her by just staring was a sight they had never expected to see.

Somewhere inside the living room, Kval found himself chuckling at their priceless reactions.

"Well," Yang started, blinking. "that was one way when it comes to handling her."

"I agree." Blake nodded.

Weiss, with her head hanging, slowly backed away from Terumi and hid herself behind Yang, much to the blonde's surprise. "S-Say anything..." she stuttered, "...and I'll kill you."

Yang laughed nervously.

"Kazuma," Terumi called out, his eyes still trained onto Ruby. "go get a pillow and a blanket. I'm going to assume that you've explored the house while I was asleep and know where to get them, so hop to it."

"Understood." Kval nodded and walked off, smiling to himself. "I'll return in a minute or two," he said.

Now with his little brother no longer inside the room, silence started making itself known.

Yang, Weiss, and Blake remained where they were, awkwardly staring at Terumi with little to no idea of what they should be doing.

Terumi sighed. He carefully moved himself and scooped little Ruby up in his arms, his expression revealing a bit of annoyance, notably his eyes. Terumi went up to his feet and set her down on the couch in a much more comfortable position, before placing his hands on his hips as he grumbled something under his breath.

"Um..." Yang sounded.

Terumi turned his head around and focused his eyes onto the three girls behind him, peering at each of them from underneath his hood. Figuring that he didn't know any of their names, Terumi held his head up high and emitted a dark aura in order to make himself look intimidating, just so he could capture their attention. "Names," he demanded.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long," Yang answered. Instead of feeling intimidated, she was honestly confused as to why he was looking at them like that, though it probably had something to do with having a mother like Raven Branwen. The look wasn't going to work on her, it seemed.

"Blake Belladonna," Blake continued, her eyes half-lidded. Yup. Not working.

Weiss peeked her head out from behind Yang's shoulder. "Weiss Schnee," she mumbled. And judging by her eyes, it seemed that the look was working on her, and _only_ her, albeit slightly.

Terumi nodded. "Yellow, Black, and White. Got it. Alright then, White! Got get me a tissue so I can clean myself." He stared at his trousers with a disgusted face, particularly the spot where Ruby had done her business. "Ugh." It was all sticky and all over the place, which added more to its disgusting feature. That said, he failed to notice the glares given to him by the three girls, not that he would've cared even if he did.

"Get our names right," Yang said, her eyes narrowing. She folded her arms and hardened her glare when Terumi set his eyes on her, standing her ground.

He scoffed. "I see no reason to do that. Especially when it's you. Your name's a mouthful." Which was true. Even if he tried practicing saying her full name every single day, then he was sure to get his tongue all tangled up as results. And he sure as hell had no intention of seeing that happening. "Just go get me a tissue so I can start cleaning my trousers for hell's sake."

"I see no reason to do that," Blake said, literally copying his words.

Terumi clicked his tongue. "Now you listen here, Black!"

"Blake," the young faunus corrected.

"Blake, Black, whatever! Just go get me a tissue!" Terumi closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, restraining himself from doing anything that would get him arrested. He succeeded. _Barely_. "You kids know this house better than I do, and the one getting me that tissue is either you two, or White. Now go."

"Not until you get our names right," Yang decided, her eyes revealing how stubborn she was being. She inherited that trait from her mother, after all.

"I agree!" Weiss exclaimed, only to cower away behind Yang once more when Terumi started giving her another one of his intense stares. "I-I won't move from this spot until you've learn how to say our names right," she stuttered.

"White..." he warned.

"I'm not moving," Weiss decided, despite sounding scared. "And nothing you say will change my mind."

"A stubborn bunch, you girls are," muttered Terumi. He could feel the desire to lash out at them surfacing itself from deep within himself, but he managed to keep it at bay. Again, _barely_.

"And we will keep being stubborn until you get our names right!" Yang declared.

Terumi gritted his teeth. "Why you little..."

"Oh?" Kval made his appearance known to everyone by entering the living room with a pillow and a blanket in his arms. He smiled in a polite manner, and politely inquired, "What is this I hear about names and being stubborn?"

"Your big brother is being a big brown turd by not getting our names right!" Yang explained, turning to Kval with an angry face which he found slightly frightening.

"Who the hell are you calling a turd!?" Terumi shouted with a twitching eye, angry beyond measure.

"Who else?" Yang challenged, her lilac eyes flickering to red for just one moment before reverting back to their original color.

Kval had a feeling that this was going to happen quite often from now on, judging by how things were going. Still, he just hoped that things won't escalate in the coming future.

"Is your brother always like this?" Blake asked, feeling calm despite the situation. She spared Yang and Terumi a brief glance when the two started raising their voices, but said nothing about it.

"Well," Kval scratched his cheek, frowning. "sort of, I guess." He went over to the couch, ignoring a certain pair of people arguing loudly inside the very same room he was in, and placed the small pillow he was carrying under Ruby's head, smiling slightly at the sight of her sleeping face. _I have to say that she looks quite adorable when she's asleep,_ he admitted.

"Myuh..." Ruby turned away from Kval, still asleep despite all the commotion.

"Huh. It doesn't seem like she needs a blanket," Kval noted, tilting his head to one side. He looked over at the blanket he was carrying, before shrugging. "Oh well. I'll just carry it then."

"Y'know what? Fine!" Yang shouted. "I'll get you your tissue! Just you wait!" She turned and ran to the stairs and climbed up, much to everyone's chagrin.

Well...everyone but a certain asshole.

"I knew she'd give in eventually," Terumi said with a confident smirk. But even then, something just...didn't feel right, but he merely brushed off the feeling upon convincing himself that he was worrying over nothing. Like, what was there to fear in the first place?

"Brother, do keep in mind that you're currently working," Kval reminded, slightly irritated. "Stop fooling around, and I suggest you apologise to Yang when she gets here."

"Sounds troublesome," Terumi grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah whatever. I'll apologise when I feel like it." Although it would take forever for that to happen.

"With this sort of behavior, I'm starting to wonder who raised you when you were a child."

Terumi turned to the one who said that, and discovered that it was Blake. The look in his eyes revealed that he didn't take the comment too well, and his restraints were nearly torn apart thanks to that single sentence alone. _Nearly_. He quickly closed his eyes and started counting inside his head in order to calm himself. It was slowly working, but Blake had other ideas it seemed.

"I may not know much about you, but it is highly likely that you were raised inside a jungle. If not, then have anyone ever taught you proper manners before in your life? To me, it doesn't seem so."

Kval winced at that.

 _You're not going to pull your punches, are you?_ Terumi gritted his teeth as memories of his past resurfaced in his mind. Not that he wanted them to in the first place. _And what do you know? Raised inside a jungle? Proper manners? Hah! It's not like you've seen what I've been through..._

Kval scratched his cheek, his eyes darting from Blake to his older sibling as sweat rolled down his forehead. Blake may not know it, but she was currently playing around in dangerous waters. If she kept this up, then all he could do was pray that she would find it in herself to stop.

It was for her own safety, after all.

"Did I struck a nerve?" Blake folded her arms, her face revealing nothing but a blank expression. However, her eyes showed _more_ than just that. "I apologise. I honestly did not know that you were actually capable enough of having one."

And with that said, the air grew tense.

"Blake, I think you should stop," Kval suggested. Even though he was speaking to Blake, his eyes were trained onto his older sibling as if he was preparing for something. "You managed to get your point across, so I see no reason for you to press on like this."

"I did? It doesn't seem like it," Blake said, just moments before noticing the dark glare given to her by Terumi. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't feeling scared, despite her calm face. That look was not meant to be shown to a child such as herself. In fact, with that expression on his face, he resembled a lot like... _him_.

Blake shuddered.

Terumi remained glaring at Blake for a few more seconds, which felt like ages thanks to the silence, but later found his head turning away, followed by his eyes closing automatically soon after.

 _It's not worth it,_ he thought. _I mean, getting mad at a little girl for running her mouth? What am I, some overly sensitive wimp? I should know better than to react like this. Hell, I'm better off-_

"Here's your tissue!"

Thanks to his quick reflexes, Terumi brought up a hand and caught the incoming white projectile before it even had a chance of colliding with his face. His eyes went over to scan the item in his grasp, taking note that it was indeed a tissue. With a growl, Terumi glared at a certain blonde who was standing in the middle of the doorway and started wiping the dirty spot on his trousers with the tissue. "Took you long enough!" he yelled.

"I have my reasons..." Yang muttered in a suspicious manner. And wait. Why was she grinning at him like that?

Before Terumi even had a chance to think about it, someone came knocking on the front door, which was then followed by the sound of said door being thrown open with more force than necessary.

A second later, a cheery and familiar voice was heard.

"I'm home!"

Ruby slowly opened her eyes while she was on the couch when the voice reached her ears, though no one noticed.

Terumi, keeping away his knife when realising that the person wasn't a burglar, walked his way over to the front door in order to see who it was.

And that person was none other than Summer Rose. His employer as well as the house's owner.

Even after recognising her voice, Terumi was still surprised, albeit slightly.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be back by around 12 AM?" Terumi pointed out, confused. "What the hell changed?"

Summer grinned a sheepish grin, pulling down her hood as she did so in order to fully reveal her face. She shook her head from side to side so that her hair wouldn't get in the way of her eyes, before fully focusing her attention on Terumi. "Well I started feeling worried while at work, so I-" She then paused, oddly enough, as her eyes started to widen.

Terumi raised an eyebrow. "What?" He took note of the bright blush appearing on Summer's face as she continued to stare at him, and that left him further confused than he was before. Terumi narrowed his eyes when silence greeted him. "What?" he asked once more, this time sounding annoyed.

Summer opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. If possible, her cheeks had probably grown redder than they originally were.

Just then, a small yawn was heard from right behind Terumi.

"Mom...is back." The voice obviously belonged to a tired Ruby, but Summer was just too shocked at whatever she was witnessing to actually notice it. Terumi did, however. "Hmm? Suspicious Person, why are you..." She released a small yawn. "...holding Mom's favorite underwear?"

Terumi froze. He moved his eyes over to the 'tissue' in his hand, but upon closer inspection it revealed that the item he was holding was actually...a white underwear. Which most definitely belonged to Summer.

And to make matters worst, it was all sticky and dirtied with drool.

Terumi had never paled so much in his entire life.

Then, realisation dawned on him.

 _Why that dirty little-_

"Kyaaaaaah!" Summer screamed.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Thank you for reading, and please leave a review!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	10. Bondings And Turkey Shopping

**Welcome to the seventh chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I apologise for being tardy and useless and disappointing to all you readers. Life decided to kick me in the balls and squeeze 'em real hard. But enough about me. Oh yeah, I have not written anything in a while, so expect this chapter to be rough around the edges.**

 **Reviews!**

 **Frank Horrigan: W-Well, you go do that.**

 **EpicLinkSam: Indeed she did. Young children can be surprisingly cruel and sinister in their own way. And yeah, I might take those offered ideas. As always, thank you.**

 **InfernoRage: I'm glad you had a good time!**

 **Atlas Ultima: I know right? And yeah, I'll try to add in more crossover moments in Troublesome Brats. And I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far!**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310: Thank you, thank you. I try my best. And yeah, good to see that you're also enjoying the story so far.**

 **Now, let's read!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

A nuclear explosion. Inside his head.

That was how it felt like when he slowly opened his eyes, and the bright light coming from the nearby windows were absolutely _no_ _t_ helping. In fact, it made him feel all the more worse than before.

"Ugh. My damn head...feels like it's not intact anymore." Terumi allowed his eyes to close themselves once more so that the light would stop assaulting them, groaning painfully as he sat himself up. He wasn't on his bed, he noted. Instead, he was on a couch.

A _very_ _familiar_ couch.

"What the hell happened last night? My memory is all...blurry and shit." Terumi brought a hand to his face and started rubbing his temples with the intention of chasing away his headache, though it was barely working. "Why can't I remember?" he muttered.

"Ah, you're awake," a voice said.

Terumi braced himself and opened his eyes, wincing when the light began assaulting his eyes just like it did moments ago. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, and was later greeted with the sight of a smiling Summer Rose. "You..." He took note of the tray in her hands. The woman wanted to offer him some tea and cookies, it seemed. Though, that was the last thing on his mind right now. "Mind telling me what happened last night?"

Summer's smile grew sheepish. "Well, about that..." she started.

Terumi narrowed his eyes at the sudden change in her behavior. "The last thing I remember was..."

And just like that, as quick as lightning, an image of Summer's white underwear appeared inside his head.

Terumi's face went as blank as a whiteboard in an instant. "Ah. Y'know what? I take it back. Don't tell me."

Summer blushed a bit upon noticing the look he had on his face, figuring that he at least knew the gist of the events which transpired last night. She quickly moved her gaze to the side, eyes closed due to embarrassment. "Yang told me everything, s-so...I guess I should apologise for what I did to you last night," she said.

"In that case, you can start apologising by letting me rest." Terumi laid back down onto the comfortable couch, closing his eyes as he did so. "I'm beat. That being said, where's Kazuma and what time is it?" he inquired.

"Oh. Well, he's sleeping in the guest room. And for some reason," Summer giggled. "the girls have grown quite attached to him, seeing that they are sleeping in the same room with him right now. You sure did a wonderful job at raising a true gentleman, Terumi."

Terumi's face darkened. "Have to admit that I had a little help..." he muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Summer asked, staring at him with confusion written across her face.

But instead of answering, Terumi had other plans. He quickly turned away just so he could avoid the topic. "It's nothing. Now what time is it?"

Summer knelt down and set the tray down onto the table, pouring out some tea into one of the cups with a friendly smile on her face. "It's around 11 AM, Terumi," she said. "You've gotten hit pretty hard last night, it seems."

Terumi rolled his eyes, not that she was able to see it anyway. "Your fault," he muttered. "If you weren't my employer, then you'd probably be in a hospital right about now."

"Hey, at least I'm apologising." Summer pouted, completely ignoring the man's obvious threat to her very safety. She poured in some tea for herself and took a small sip, smiling with satisfaction soon after. "You're welcome to try my tea if you'd like," she said, taking a seat on one of the chairs. "As well as the cookies. I made them myself."

"I'm not..." His stomach chose that particular moment to growl, much to his absolute annoyance. "...hungry."

Summer giggled, a knowing look in her eyes. "I can clearly see that your body is denying your words, Terumi. Come on, sit up and have breakfast with me," she said, her smile widening. "Your tea is going to get cold if you leave it like that."

Clicking his tongue, Terumi sat himself up and turned to Summer. "Yeah yeah, whatever." The smell of tea as well as the sight of cookies made his stomach growl louder, but despite that he managed to restrain himself from eating like a starving animal. He had table manners too, but unfortunately not a lot of people were aware of that little fact.

"Go on," Summer encouraged, smiling. "No need to be shy now."

Terumi, being himself, set his chin down onto the palm of his hand with his eyes focused elsewhere, while his other free hand was in the process of reaching out for a cookie or two. "Don't expect me to say thank you or anything," he grumbled.

Summer chuckled, amused. "You just did," she pointed out.

"You know what I mean." Cookie in hand, Terumi brought it up to his mouth and took a large bite. His eyes widened somewhat. It tasted...good, though he wouldn't admit it out loud. There was no way he could-

"So how does it taste?" Summer asked, excitement evident in her eyes.

 _Shit._

Terumi stared at Summer with a blank look as he kept crunching the cookie pieces in his mouth, and the reason why he was doing it so slowly was so that he could come up with something that's _not_ half-assed. He was trying his best to come up with something, truly he did, but those pair of excited eyes really didn't make things any easier for him.

So in the end, all he could come up was...

"It's...it's decent enough, I guess."

He took note of the sudden silence which followed, and immediately winced.

 _Shit. I knew I wasn't-_

"You...really think so?"

"Eh?" Terumi focused his full attention on Summer, confusion evident in his eyes. "Of course. I mean, why am I eating it then?"

Summer grinned sheepishly, scratching her cheek as she did so. "It's just that...you didn't look like you were enjoying it. Was I wrong?" she asked.

 _Eh?_ And with that, Terumi nearly choked on his own spit. _Of course!_ he internally exclaimed. _I was so focused on not trying to sound like an ass that I failed to maintain my stoic mask! She must have misunderstood things the moment she saw my thinking face. Ugh. This is going to be a pain._

"Terumi?" Summer tilted her head to one side, gazing at him. "Are you feeling well? You're spacing out there."

"Huh? Ah, yeah!" Terumi brought a hand to the back of his neck and cleared his throat, allowing his eyes to wander to the side for no actual reason. "Well, you were wrong. Kinda. I was actually trying my best to come up with something without making me sound like an ass, but in the end my thinking face made you misunderstand things." He took another bite from the cookie in his hand, eyes closing. "So anyway, it's good. End of story," he said.

Summer, who had been surprised at the fact that she easily misunderstood the situation, brought a hand to her mouth and giggled. "Good? But don't you mean...'decent'?" she said in a playful manner, grinning.

Terumi simply shrugged in return. "Whichever works."

Summer couldn't help but giggle again. "Anyway," she began. "since we're here talking, I was actually hoping that, after we're done with breakfast, you would be willing enough to follow me around to the nearest grocery store?"

Terumi blinked. "Eh?"

"I mean, we'll be able to get to know each other better this way," said Summer, smiling that sweet and innocent smile of hers. "I need to buy ingredients for today's dinner. So, what do you say?"

Terumi stared at her. "Um…"

 **-IIXII-**

 _How did things end up like this?_

"Terumi, could you hand me over one of those cereals? I promised Ruby that I'd buy her one."

Terumi accepted his employer's request and handed her one of the healthy cereals he had been staring at for the past few minutes, despite his mind being occupied by thoughts such as _What the hell am I doing here?_ as well as _Shouldn't I be sleeping?_

Clearly, Terumi had a lot going on inside his mind.

Summer stared at him. "Terumi?"

"Eh?" Terumi brought himself back to reality, and only then did he realise that he was not letting go of the cereal box which he was supposed to be handing over to Summer. He quickly retracted his hand and walked ahead, before saying, "So what's next on the list for tonight's dinner?"

"Turkey." Summer placed the cereal box somewhere inside the shopping basket she was carrying, and when she turned to her employee, she found herself staring at his expression. "What?" she asked, puzzled.

"Turkey?" Terumi questioned. Though before Summer could answer, he shook his head and walked ahead. "Wow. I honestly wasn't expecting that."

"Well, Ruby and I have to at least eat one turkey once every two weeks. It's a family thing, you see," Summer explained, smiling when the past memories of her daughter and herself having fun together at dinner came flooding inside her mind. "And don't be surprised when I say that Ruby is able to finish off more than half of a turkey all by herself. I've seen it firsthand."

"Really impressive." Terumi rolled his eyes. _The only things Kval and I were able to afford to eat in the past were boiled eggs and instant noodles. It's really annoying when you keep rubbing my face with the fact that you're both luckier than we are in life._ He turned his head towards Summer. "Speaking of turkeys, why don't we just-"

"Oof!"

Terumi immediately backed away, the expression on his face changing from stoic to extreme hostile in the span of half a second. "Hey! Watch where you're going, you blind asshat!" he yelled, much to Summer's chagrin.

"I-I uh…" The person, who obviously had been fiddling with her phone and not looking at her surroundings judging by the fact that she was wearing headphones, shrunk under Terumi's gaze and started to fidget. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Well don't just say sorry! Fuck off!" Terumi narrowed his eyes, the look on his face growing more hostile by the second. He flicked the girl in the forehead and bared his fangs. "Stay here any longer, and I might just have to remove you. _Brutally_."

And with that, the girl turned and ran while holding in the urge to scream. She was on the verge of crying too, Summer noted.

"People these days…" Terumi muttered.

Summer gave her employee a disapproving look. "Did you really have to-"

"Yeah yeah, I had to. Now, come on." Terumi grabbed Summer's basket and went off to find the largest turkey available inside the grocery store, much to Summer's annoyance at the fact that he was not even trying to listen to her.

"You really need to work on your temper there," Summer sounded, and was quite annoyed to find herself getting ignored. "If you keep this up, then people will-"

"What, find me annoying?" Terumi muttered, surprising Summer with the tone he was using. He sounded calm, and yet the emotions hidden behind it was…different. "Don't concern yourself with that. Just look around you."

 _Huh? What does he mean?_ Summer did as she was told and looked around. And only then did she notice the fear and hatred on the faces of countless of people around them, all of them directed at a certain yellow cloak-wearing someone. She made a puzzled face. _Why are they looking at him like that?_ Summer found herself asking that question internally. _There must be some reason. Am I missing something here?_

"Judging by that determined look you have on your face, I'm guessing that you're trying to find a logical reason to why I'm being glared at by many," Terumi said. He ignored Summer's reaction to his words, and instead focused his full attention on all of the available turkeys in the meat area of the store. Despite knowing that it was not him who was going to be eating the delicious turkey they were planning on buying for dinner, he still wanted the largest one available so one else could have it. It was a bad habit of his, apparently. "If so, then don't bother. You're just wasting your time."

"Hmm…" Summer squinted her eyes. "You know, something has been bugging my mind ever since we've first met."

Terumi raised a single eyebrow, somewhat intrigued at where this was going, but he still kept his eyes on the turkeys, however. "What is it?"

Summer folded her arms. "Have we met before somewhere?"

Terumi spared Summer a brief glance. He then picked up the largest turkey he was able to find and placed it inside his shopping basket, then decided to move along. "I'm surprised. It seems that I wasn't the only one after all," he said.

Summer's eyes widened at that, albeit slightly. "Really? Doesn't it bother you?"

Terumi shrugged. "Not really. Anyway, what is next on our list?" He turned away and was about to walk off, but the sudden pulling of his sleeve prevented him from doing so. No doubt it was Summer.

"Let's be serious here," Summer said.

Terumi turned to look at her from the corner of his eyes, before turning away once more to avoid those dangerous silver orbs. He grumbled something, before loudly saying, "I'll start getting serious about this once I start remembering. Now, can we just please move on to the next item?"

Summer pouted. Figuring that it was hopeless to get anything out of him at the moment, she sighed and released Terumi's sleeve, right before pulling out her shopping list. "If you say so," she muttered.

 **-IIXII-**

A small yawn escaped Kval's lips. He opened an eye in order to clear his vision, but soon find himself screaming when noticing Ruby's face dangerously close to his own. "Uwaah!" If he had a weak heart, then there was no doubt that he would have gotten himself a heart attack.

"Good morning!" Ruby exclaimed, waking up most of the occupants inside the room they all were occupied in.

Weiss groaned, Blake grumbled, and Yang? Well, she kept on sleeping like a log on the bed she was sharing with the other two girls. Talk about a heavy sleeper.

"Kazuma, let's play!" Ruby said, her face beaming with excitement. "Ooh! Ooh! We can also draw! And then play hide-and-seek!"

Kval can say for sure that he was not ready for this in any capacity. Dealing with an excited Ruby Rose early in the morning could harm his mental state if he was not careful, so he needed to be smart about this.

"I uh…" Kval started. "I'm feeling a bit…tired. Can you please give me a few more minutes to rest?"

Oh, what a mistake that was.

Ruby made a face, and Kval immediately found himself feeling as if he had kicked a kitten with a safety boot.

"O-Okay…"

"Wait wait wait!" Kval quickly yelled in order to get the girl's attention, in which he did. He held up a hand and gave her a thumbs up, his smile growing nervous ever so slightly by the passing second. "I feel slightly better now, so how about we draw something? Will that be okay?"

Ruby gasped, the previous expression from before disappearing as if it was never there in the first place. And in all seriousness, Kval was honestly surprised to see how fast she was able to recover like that. "Yay!" she cheered.

Kval scratched his cheek. "Y-Yay."

Blake and Weiss opted to stay quiet and further observe the two from their bed, with Yang still sleeping despite the commotion going on inside the room.

"For someone his age, he is quite polite when it comes to dealing with others," Blake commented.

"I…" Weiss nodded. "…agree. That being said, I honestly think that my older sister would agree with me on this as well. She is quite fond of people like him."

"Typical," Blake muttered with a quick roll of her amber eyes, which thankfully went unnoticed by Weiss. "Anyway, we should help Ruby out. We can't just let her have _all_ the fun. That would be unfair."

"Huh?" Weiss turned to Blake with a clueless expression. "Why do you say that? What do you mean?"

"I know this will sound weird coming from me," Blake said, smiling slightly. "but I honestly want to get to know him better. He seems…like an interesting individual."

Weiss formed her lips into a straight line, eyeing Blake with half-lidded eyes as if she knew what was Blake's true motive of wanting to know Kval better, in which she definitely did. "You just want to ask him what type of books he's interested in, don't you?"

Blake smirked. "Can't blame me."

Weiss sighed. "Typical."

 **-IIXII-**

Summer exited the grocery store alongside Terumi, and judging by the look on her face, it was quite clear that she was troubled. After witnessing everyone's hatred and other negative emotions being directed at her employee, it was unbelievably hard for her to turn a blind eye to that.

 _How did he even end up like this? But more importantly, how is he even able to endure all of this? What caused him to receive so much hatred from other people in the first place?_

"Glad to finally be done with this," Terumi muttered in an annoyed manner, unintentionally snapping Summer back into reality as he brushed past her shoulder, walking ahead. "Once we get back, I'll be borrowing your couch for a bit. Is that fine with you?"

Summer quickly formed a small smile on her face, just barely catching his question. "S-Sure. Go ahead." She noticed the glances he kept shooting in her direction, and decided to confront him about it. "What's bothering you, Terumi? You've been giving me weird looks, and I'm not sure how I should take that," she said.

"Y'know, I always did wonder what went through your mind when you first decided to hire me," Terumi said with narrowed eyes. He quickly turned away and focused his attention on the path ahead, which was a wise decision as he nearly stepped on some shit belonged to either a cat or a dog. Hell, it could have belonged to a human for all he knew. And fuck that shit.

Summer tilted her head to one side, also avoiding the tiny crap so that her combat boots would stay clean. "What do you mean?" she asked, confusion written across her face. "We talked about this before, didn't we?"

 _Ah._ Terumi found himself smiling. _I can finally see the big picture. No wonder._ It was not a smirk, nor was it the occasional crazy grin he had when facing a losing opponent. It was just a smile.

A simple smile.

"I'm guessing that you're not from around here…"

Summer raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Terumi held up a hand and waved it around in a dismissive manner, his smile still present albeit it was hidden.

"It's nothing."

Or so he thought.

Summer was stunned to say the least, though she quickly recovered. She was about to give him her comment regarding the first smile she had ever seen appearing on his face, but Terumi decided to move forward and beat her in terms of speaking.

"Come on, let's go." Terumi gave Summer a quick glance, his expression reverting back to its usual stoic look. "The glares I'm receiving are starting to get a bit tiresome for me."

Oh well, she can always try to bring it up again later. It's not like he was going anywhere.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Not much happens in this one, unfortunately. It just showcases the main characters bonding with one another, and that's actually what I'm aiming for. I just hope that I did good with their personalities and whatnot.**

 **Anyway, remember to review if you enjoyed the chapter! It helps!**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	11. Zero Experience And Annoying Masked Men

**Welcome to the eighth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I already had this done a long time ago, to be honest. It's just that, when my phone died, chapter 7 was still somewhere inside its internal storage, and it was incomplete. Ugh. I ended up doing chapter 8 ahead instead. But now, all is fixed.**

 **Now, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: I am glad that I did not disappoint. And I'll try those ideas. To be honest, I never played UNIEL and P5, but I have watched the P4 Anime adaption and played its fighting game. Still, I'll try them out in the future extras if I can.**

 **SifTheGreat: Like your name, you are one hell of a great reader. I'm glad I updated instead of abandoning the story, and it's honestly good to see people like you who have been worrying about the fate of Troublesome Brats. Keep being awesome!**

 **Frank Horrigan: I have a feeling that there is one hell of a story behind those words of yours.**

 **Lovnag: Well thank you. I try my best.**

 **Now with reviews aside, let's read!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Mister Ragna, was it? What was your last name again?"

Ragna can now say, without a doubt, that he was starting to regret his decision. He adjusted the collar of his red jacket as he allowed his eyes to wander over to anywhere besides the rabbit faunus. "I…don't really have one," he mumbled.

Said faunus smiled in return. "Oh. Well, it doesn't matter. I'm Velvet, by the way. Velvet Scarlatina." She held out a hand towards him. "I'll be looking forward to working with you," she said. "If there is anything that you'd like to know before we start, which will be an hour from now, then don't hesitate to ask."

"Well…" Ragna made a fool out of himself by scratching his head instead of accepting the offered hand, and the nervous look on his face wasn't helping. "…I have absolutely _zero_ experience when it comes to this. Mind telling me what I'll be doing?"

Velvet nodded, pulling her hand back to her side. "For starters, help Coco over there with the chairs and wipe the tables after. But if you're talking about how to deal with customers, then all I can say is be polite, take their orders, and smile." She put up a friendly smile to prove her point. "Sounds easy, right?"

Easy? Hell, that sounded beyond easy! In fact, doing all that work with his eyes closed won't even going to be a damn problem!

Yeah, but despite saying that…

There was actually _one_ tiny problem.

"Smile?" Ragna blinked a couple of times, acting as if the common word came from a donkey's ass of all things. "Is it…necessary?"

Velvet rolled her eyes, in a playful manner of course. "Well, this _is_ a café. As a worker, smiling is everything around here. Pleasing the customers is top priority, after all."

Ragna looked uncertain about all this. "I'm not sure I should. It'll be bad for business."

"Bad for business? What does that even mean?" Velvet narrowed her eyes, staring at him. "If you're _really_ that uncertain with how you'd look in front of others, then try me."

"I honestly don't think-"

"Just do it."

Then after that, everything went silent.

"Velvet! Can you get that new guy over here so he can help me with these chairs? I ain't doing 'em all by myself unless I'm getting paid extra," Coco sounded from where she was, arranging the chairs as she did so. She raised an eyebrow, however, when silence greeted her. "Velvet?" she called out.

Ragna came in and placed a hand onto the brunette's shoulder, before pointing his thumb at a rigid and pale Velvet. "She's over there. I'll handle these chairs. You just go and grab her something to drink," he said, sighing.

"Velvet? Oh Dust, Velvet! Are you okay!?" Coco called out as she ran to where Velvet was, panicking at the sight of her friend's extremely pale face.

Ragna, with his eyes closed and sweat rolling down his forehead, tightened his grip around the chair he was holding.

 _You asshole. You know for a fact that I'm bad_ _when it comes to_ _serving customers._

"Velvet! Can you hear me!?"

He gritted his teeth.

 _I'll murder your ass the next time I see you. Count on it._

 **-IIXII-**

"Kazuma."

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind telling me _why_ I have a scroll showing a picture of some crude drawing near my face at 9 AM?" Terumi said, eyeing said scroll with an annoyed expression. Despite having the device shoved near his face, he made no move to turn away. His current position on his futon was too comfortable to just simply do that, so he opted to stay.

"It's Ruby's drawing," Kval explained with a small chuckle. "Miss Rose sent this picture to me a couple of minutes ago. Apparently, according to her, Ruby's excited to see you today, so she drew a picture of you standing in front of their house in order to contain her excitement."

Terumi gave an amused huff. "That stick figure is supposed to be me? Sure I can see my cloak and all, but really? I prefer dog crap than this, and I can find that _anywhere_ in the streets if I wanted to."

Kval made a blank face. "Really? That's just mean, Brother."

"I'm just saying." Terumi closed his eyes, intent on getting as much sleep as he could before he'd start working in the next few hours. "Also, I'm surprised that you're not in there, considering the fact that you're close to the brat."

Kval rolled his eyes. "She's excited about _you_ , not me," he muttered.

Terumi found himself smirking. "Jealous much?"

"Why should I be?" Kval sat down on his own futon and kept away his scroll device, laying himself down soon after in order to stare at the ceiling. "It's not like I like her or anything," he said.

Terumi cracked open an eye. "She'd cry for sure if I tell her that you've said that."

"What? Hey! I-I didn't mean it _that_ way!" Kval exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Don't tell her that!"

Terumi laughed. "Yeah yeah, whatever floats your boat." He turned away. "Anyway, just let me sleep for an hour or two. I don't want to end up sleeping in that house just to get myself assaulted again."

Kval sighed. "I'll be sure to-" His scroll started vibrating, gaining his undivided attention. "Eh?"

"What is it?" Terumi mumbled.

"Give me a moment." Kval pulled out his scroll in order to check out what all the vibrating was about, which didn't really take too long. "I've just received a message from Miss Rose," he said. "Says that she's leaving early for today, so-"

"Dust dammit!"

And with that, Terumi and Kval quickly got themselves ready and stepped out of their apartment room. Kval didn't seem to mind much as they walked, but Terumi…

"How does she expect me to work? _How_? I need my sleep damn it!"

Kval rolled his eyes for the second time that day, walking near his brother's side with a patient expression. Living with someone like his older brother for the most part of his life has taught him a thing or two, and one of those thing or twos were to always be patient. Lord knows how many of those he still has in stock…

"Just accept the fact that you're going to work, Brother," Kval said, noticing a handful of glares sent their way by a group of suspicious people with masks on their faces. He made no effort to point that out to his brother, however. "I mean, it won't be _that_ bad."

"I know it won't, but…" Terumi pinched the bridge of his nose, hiding away his frustrations by closing his eyes. "…I just want my morning sleep. Is that just too much to ask?"

 _There aren't a lot of people in the area from what I can tell._ Kval moved his eyes over to the left, just in time to spot a couple more of those mask-wearing people hiding behind a large tree, but unlike the others, they carried pistols instead of blades. _Hiding behind a tree? Really?_ _These White Fang grunts are growing desperate by the day from what I can tell. Oh well. It's not like I'm going to have a problem when it comes down to dealing with them._

"And I haven't even had breakfast!" Terumi continued, entirely oblivious to his surroundings. "Can you believe that!?"

"I'm sure Miss Rose has prepared something for you to eat at her house. She's just nice like that," Kval assured his brother as he darted his eyes from a White Fang soldier to another, keeping them in his line of sight as well as taking notes of their every move. "Say, why don't you just go on ahead while I head to the grocery store for a bit? I'm feeling quite thirsty," he said with a small smile.

"Huh?" Terumi stared at him, puzzled. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm not really in a rush or anything."

"No, I'll be fine." Kval grinned. "Go ahead."

Terumi stared at his younger sibling for a moment longer, before shrugging. "Alright then. Just don't take too long, you hear? It would be embarrassing for me to search through the entire city for your ass if you were to suddenly go missing."

"I won't, so no worries there." Kval stopped his legs from moving any further and started waving at Terumi, smiling as his older sibling walked off into the distance. With the smile still present on his face, he quickly moved his waving hand to his right, shooting out Ouroboros from his sleeve and catching a White Fang soldier by the arm with said chain. "Besides, these are pitiful bugs I'm dealing with."

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi decided to announce his presence by kicking Summer's door open, before loudly exclaiming, "Well here I am!" He caught sight of his employer jumping a few inches off the floor due to his sudden appearance, and he couldn't help but grin widely at that. "Why the sudden jump, Boss?" he teased.

Summer glared at him. "Oh you know _exactly_ the reason why I jumped, Terumi. And that innocent look you're making won't fool anyone!"

Terumi blew a raspberry, still quite enjoying himself. "Yeah whatever. Now, where are those kids?"

"Her friends aren't here yet, but Ruby's right over-"

"Mister Terumi!" a voice squealed out.

A black and red blur zoomed past Summer, leaving a trail of red rose petals to drift down the air around her. And as it turned out, the blur was actually Ruby herself, and Terumi was unable to prepare himself when the little ball of energy came tackling him to the ground with a force so powerful that it would put a speeding train to shame.

"Gah!" Terumi coughed, no longer enjoying himself. "Hey, what's the damn deal here!?"

Summer smiled, despite gazing at the sight of her troubled employee. "She's just excited to see you. Say welcome, Ruby," she said.

"Welcome, Ruby!" Ruby exclaimed with a wide grin, earning a small giggle from her mother, as well as a low grumbling noise from Terumi.

"Alright, let's get inside," Summer announced. "I've also prepared breakfast in case you're hungry, so there's no need to worry."

Terumi's stomach decided to be an asshole by growling right then and there, indicating that he was hungry just by the mention of food.

The three went inside soon after that, mostly it was thanks to Terumi since he was starving and wanted a bite to eat.

Summer took note of Terumi occasionally scratching his belly as they walked around inside her house, and she couldn't help but comment, "Quite the belly you have there."

"I haven't had breakfast…" Terumi mumbled in response, looking away.

"Then you are in for a treat!" Ruby exclaimed, her eyes filled with cheerfulness and excitement which made her mother laugh and blush at the same time. "She made pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, and…err…pancakes, and…" Ruby held up her hands and started counting with her fingers. "Um…"

Terumi raised an eyebrow as he eyed the energetic child, no doubt questioning her lack of tiredness. Were kids always like this early in the morning?

"You forgot one last thing, sweetie," Summer reminded, smiling.

"Um…" Ruby narrowed her eyes, before they widened along with the grin on her cute little face. "Boiled eggs! Yeah!"

The size of Terumi's eyes instantly skyrocketed into the next dimension upon hearing the name of his most favorite treat. With his stomach growling like a bear having diarrhea in the middle of winter, he forced his legs to move faster in order to reach the kitchen.

Little Ruby barely made it when it came to moving out of her caretaker's way. She stared at the older man's back with a clueless look, head tilting to one side. "Huh?" was the only word she was able to come up with.

Summer chose that moment to let out a small giggle. "He sure loves his eggs." She then redirected her attention to her daughter. "Go keep him company, sweetie. I still need to prepare my equipment for today's job," she said.

Ruby looked up to her mother with a grin and nodded excitedly. "Okay!"

In the kitchen, Terumi paid no mind to table manners, despite knowing the fact that the house he was in belonged to his _employer_. None of that mattered to him when it came down to boiled eggs. He just kept shoving them in his mouth and chewed as if he was spending the last moments of his life on the planet.

Damn. If Kval were to see him now like this, then he was sure to receive some measure of scolding.

"I haven't had a decent breakfast in a while," Terumi commented, right before shoving another boiled egg into his mouth. He paused, chewed, then swallowed. After that, he leaned back into his chair and started rubbing his belly with the look of pure bliss plastered across his usually scowling face. "Damn that felt good!" he exclaimed.

"I know right?"

"Geh!" Terumi nearly fell out of his chair upon hearing Ruby's voice. He corrected himself and made sure that his chair would not betray him, before looking over to the other side of the table to see Ruby's head just barely poking out from under it. Right now, all he could see was her hair. "What do you want, short stuff?" he asked with narrowed eyes, seriously forgetting the fact that he was in another person's home.

Ruby moved around a bit and finally succeeded in making her face visible for Terumi to see. Well, a _part_ of her face, anyway. "So were the eggs delicious or what?"

Terumi locked eyes with the child, which was literally the only visible part of her face he could see at the moment. After a couple of seconds, he finally responded with a simple, "I guess."

"Then! T-Then…" Ruby struggled as she pulled herself up onto the table, much to Terumi's amusement. Once done, she pointed towards a plate of hot pancakes and quickly suggested, "Try those! They are the best!"

Terumi squinted his eyes at the innocent child and placed his left elbow onto the table, trying to look intimidating but failing miserably. "I'm not sure if I should trust you. My boss could have poisoned them for all I know," he said.

"Really? But…you gobbled down all those eggs without a second thought," Ruby pointed out. "Aren't you the least bit worried?"

Terumi stared at her with a serious face. "You _do_ realise that I was joking, right?"

"Oh." Ruby grinned. She grabbed one of the forks which were prepared on the table and held it out towards her caretaker. "Does that mean…?" she trailed off.

Terumi rolled his eyes and snatched the fork away from the child's tiny hand, though it did not seem like she minded. "Yeah yeah. If it'll make you feel any better, I'll try some."

"Yay!" cheered Ruby. "I'm sure you'll love it!"

"I'll be the judge of that," Terumi stated as he pulled the plate filled with pancakes towards himself. They smelled good, not going to lie, but frankly that wasn't important. To him, the taste was what's truly important, so these pancakes better not disappoint him in terms of taste or else! "Hmm…"

"Go on," Ruby encouraged, holding in her excitement while she was at it.

Rolling his eyes, Terumi tightened his grip around the fork in his hand and stabbed one of the pancakes with more force than necessary. He brought the treat up to his mouth and took a tiny bite, but seconds later he found himself tearing the pancake to pieces with his teeth before redirecting his attention to the ones still on the plate.

 _Screw table manners!_

Ruby watched the scene unfold before her with a large grin plastered across her face, giggling occasionally at the sight of her caretaker choking himself by accident. "Take it easy, Mister Terumi," she suggested.

"Yeah yeah, I know what I'm doing," Terumi said with his mouth filled to the brim with delicious pancakes, rolling his eyes soon after that. "These are tasty, I'll give 'em that. But even then, they are still nowhere near the level of boiled eggs."

Ruby found herself pouting. "But why?"

Terumi simply shrugged. "Just because."

 **-IIXII-**

Summer checked herself one last time and, once she was sure that she had everything she needed for the day ahead, she grabbed her signature white cloak and made her way down the stairs with a smile on her face. Voices from the kitchen, no doubt belonging to her daughter and her employee, caught her attention as she walked, but that did nothing to stop her from heading towards the front door when someone came knocking in order to announce their presence.

 _Now that I think about it, Terumi arrived here on his own earlier. So I guess that means…_

Summer went to the door and opened it up, smiling when Kazuma Kval entered her line of sight.

Who seemed to be sweating bullets for some reason. Hell, he looked as if he had been running through the streets of the whole darn town for no good reason.

Can't say that she wasn't worried for his well-being.

"Kazuma." Summer knelt down to the child's level, eyeing him with her concerned eyes. "You look exhausted. I know I shouldn't be asking this, but mind telling me what you have been doing?"

"I was…" Kazuma wiped some sweat off his brow as a smile took its place on his pale face, taking in some air as he did so. "…running around, being silly. Nothing worth noting."

Summer narrowed her eyes. "I see."

Something seemed utterly wrong about that smile he was presenting to her, but she decided to let it slide for now. Perhaps she could question him about it later. Right now, she had work to do. And she was late at that!

But before that…

"Ruby, sweetie! I'm leaving now!" Summer called out to the kitchen. She grinned. "Mind giving me a hug before I go?"

Not long after that, a black and red blur came slamming into Summer, much to Kval's surprise.

"Be a good girl while I'm away, you hear?" Summer returned her daughter's embrace, and all she could do was smile when Ruby started nodding her head up and down repeatedly. "Good girl. And be sure to not give Mister Terumi a headache. He has had quite enough of that, it seems."

"Okay!" Ruby exclaimed.

Summer nodded once and went up to her full height. She turned to Kval and winked at him, much to his confusion. "I'm off then. Take good care of my daughter, Kazuma," she said.

"E-Eh?" Kval blinked three times in one second, his mouth slightly agape. "Shouldn't that be my brother's job?"

Summer giggled quietly and ruffled the child's hair, stepping out of the house soon after that. "Oh you know what I mean," she said.

Kval sighed as he watched the older woman leave, not taking note of Ruby standing directly behind him with a mischievous grin plastered across her face. "Apparently I don't," he mumbled to no one but himself.

"Boo!"

"Uwaah!"

 **-IIXII-**

"I'm guessing she left, which basically means my work starts now. Dammit, how troublesome," Terumi mumbled as he rose up from his chair. He took a handful of cookies from the plate which was placed directly in front of him on the table and made his way out of the kitchen with the intention of greeting his little brother. "It sure took him a while to get here," Terumi mumbled once more, popping one of the treats in his mouth after that.

He reached the front door and took in the sight displayed before him.

Kval seemed to be scolding little Ruby about something. Whatever it was, Terumi wasn't sure. Though no matter how serious he appeared to be, it didn't seem like Ruby was paying any attention to what he was saying.

 _Poor Kazuma._

Terumi crossed his arms and leaned himself against the wall, eyeing the pair as a small smile found its way up to his face. It was honestly good to see him getting along with kids around his age, rather than a bunch of adults like usual. That was partially his fault, he will definitely admit.

After taking a couple of seconds to examine him up and down, Terumi took note of his younger sibling's slightly disheveled appearance, and could only afford to shake his head as a reaction.

Terumi knew something was up the moment his little brother wanted to stay behind, but he was just too lazy to do anything about it. And besides, it was a bit too early for him to start doing anything that required a lot of physical energy.

Still…

 _You fought them again, didn't you?_

 **-IIXII-**

 **Ooh! New characters!**

 **Velvet Scarlatina - 16**

 **Coco Adel - 16**

 **And that is all for this one. The next chapter will be the other half, meaning that we will actually get to see Terumi working as a damn caretaker as well as him…meeting certain people in the process.**

 **Also, yes, Kval can handle himself in a fight against a whole crowd of armed men. He was raised by two deadly assholes, so what do you expect? And also, yes, Terumi has some sort of history with the White Fang. Just picture the place they live in as an area that has all kinds of trouble happening each day to the point where even the authorities are unable to handle things. Yeah.**

 **Anyway, leave a review if you enjoyed!**

 **CPL, over and out.**


	12. Special 004

**I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Where is he?"

"We have received a report that our target has…taken up a job."

Adam turned around and faced the soldier under his command, and even with the mask covering the upper part of his face, the soldier was still able to see how confused he was at the news. "A job, you say?" he questioned.

"Indeed." The White Fang grunt nodded in confirmation. "Our recent report says that he is now working as a caretaker. Whether that is true or not is still unknown."

Adam folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"

"The agent who reported this…was discovered and was unable to escape, so right now his fate is unknown. And that's not all. We are also unable to contact the group of soldiers who we sent in a few hours ago," the soldier reported. "Which is…unfortunate. Right now we have sent in a couple of agents to their last known location in order to-"

"You know damn well that it is unfortunate!" Adam roared, slamming his fist against the wall due to his uncontrollable anger. "It's that brat again, isn't it? He is the one who keeps giving us nothing but trouble during most of our ops…"

The soldier sighed. "Indeed he is. It is clear that most of our men are unsuitable enough to face him, so what do you suggest we do?"

Adam balled his hands into tight fists. "I would go there myself and deal with that vermin, but I have some other things that I need to attend to. Which would mean…that I will need help from an outsider," he muttered.

The White Fang soldier widened his eyes behind his mask. "H-Help from an outsider? A-Are you sure?"

"There is no other choice. I have lost too many people because of that little brat, and I cannot afford to lose more." Adam adjusted his mask, scowling as he did. "I know the perfect person for the job. I just need to show her the money, and in return, she will get it done."

The soldier nodded. "If you insist, Leader Taurus."

"Good." Adam turned around and went back to his chair. "In the meantime, go contact our little assassin. I am sure that she would love to hear from us. We are the ones who are going to pay her, after all," he said.

 **-IIXII-**

 _It was good while it lasted,_ were the words which went through Tyrian's mind. A small frown found its way up to his face, which was, to be perfectly honest, a rare occurrence. _A shame that it had to end so soon._

The tall man retracted his blades and released a sad sigh.

"You put up a good fight, but alas…"

The veteran Huntsman near Tyrian's feet attempted to crawl his way back to his blade, despite fully knowing that it was broken beyond repair. He grunted and crawled, only to end up coughing out blood when something came down and impaled him through his back.

"…your fighting skills were not enough. Do train more in the afterlife."

And with that, Tyrian's small frown was quickly replaced with a large, sadistic grin. He pulled his scorpion tail out of the man's body in a rough manner, which was actually his intent as he wanted to see his victim's blood splatter against the ground as well as the walls of the alley they were in.

"Gah!"

Tyrian giggled. "Music to my ears…"

The Huntsman slowly turned his head to face Tyrian, his eyes filled to the brim with hatred and rage. "Y-You'll…pay for this…you-"

His chance to cough out his last words never came as Tyrian decided to stab him through the neck with his blades, splattering more blood pretty much everywhere in the process.

"I will. Maybe." Tyrian chuckled, which soon turned into an insane laugh that scared away all the rats in the area. "Who knows? But you're dead now, so who cares!? Hahahahaha!"

The insane scorpion retracted his blades and hid his tail back inside his coat, but not before wiping away his victim's blood of course. Having his clothes dirtied would be a real pain to deal with.

"I'll just leave you here then," Tyrian said to the corpse as he walked away, a sickening smile plastered across his face. "Not like I give a damn to begin with. You can go rot yourself and get eaten up by rats for all I care. Hehehe…" He turned his head around, eyeing the corpse one last time. "But hey, at least you had a nice death. I rarely bring out my tail to finish the job," he said.

 _Y'know, even if you have a big tail that can pierce through concrete walls and poison others, in the end it would still be useless if you're unable to stab me with it! Hyahaha! Why don't you just go and chop it off or something? I'm sure you could turn it into a meal if you try hard enough!_

Just then, the memory he hated so much suddenly came flashing inside his mind. And that ruined his mood entirely.

Of all the bad and humiliating things that he had experienced in the past, the one to appear inside his head so suddenly just had to be that one.

It really pissed him off.

Tyrian growled. "No matter. Once I figure out where you live, I will be sure to stab you with my tail until I. Am. _Satisfied_." With that said, his eyes turned deadly serious, along with the rest of his face. It was one hell of a frightening sight. No joke. "I will be sure to turn you into cheese when I am done with you, Terumi. And _that_ , is a promise," he muttered.

 **-IIXII-**

 **More characters!**

 **Adam Taurus - 22**

 **Tyrian Callows - 25**

 **Please leave a review if you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	13. Meeting Family Members And Arguments

**Welcome to the ninth chapter of Troublesome Brats! Oh yeah!**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Indeed it is. You have no idea. Luckily Velvet survived to tell the tale.**

 **SifTheGreat: No problem dude. It honestly feels good to see you enjoying the story so far. And just like your name, keep being great!**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310: Thank you for the welcome, Gerard. And yeah, there are some scary smiles out there, but Ragna's? Well, his smile is one of 'em apparently.**

 **Now with reviews aside, let's begin!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"I'll get it!" Kval volunteered.

Terumi, who was busy pinching Ruby's cheeks since he had no other things to do, turned to his younger sibling and called out, "Remember to kick them in the balls if the person is a burglar!"

"M-Mister Terumi!" Ruby started waving her arms around in order to get the older man's attention. "Stop! M-My cheeks aren't toys!" A shame that she was ignored in the end. "Mister Terumi!"

 _Oh._ Kval rolled his eyes with a smirk as he went to the front door. _I'll be sure to do more than that if that's the case._ The little snake reached for the knob once he was close and turned it in order for him to open the door. The sight of Yang grinning at him made him smile, but that same smile soon vanished when the sound of Raven Branwen clearing her throat reached his ears. He slowly faced up, and only then did he notice the glare Raven was shooting in his direction.

It was as if Death himself was considering the idea of taking his life away in that instant.

"U-Uh…"

"You tell that useless brother of yours to keep his eyes on my little daughter at all times, you hear?" Raven said. She squinted her eyes, sending chills down Kval's spine. "If anything happens, you are to blame. I am not one to show mercy, even to a child such as yourself." And with that, the frightening woman patted her daughter on the head, turned around, and walked away to wherever she was heading.

Kval found himself holding his breath the entire time she was in his sight. Only when she disappeared to who knows where did he finally start breathing normally again.

Yang took note of this, apparently.

"Yeah, sorry about my mom," Yang apologised. She offered Kval a sheepish grin and laughed. "She has always been overprotective of me. _Always_. It gets a bit annoying at times, sure, but I know she means well. She's my mom, after all."

An overprotective mother. How typical. Normally it would be the father's job to be frightening, but hey, the discovery of new things occur all the time, so who was he to judge?

"Yeah. She's also frightening, that's for sure." Kval released a small breath of air once he was done recovering from his little scare. He turned to Yang, and later pointed a finger to the direction of the living room. "Anyway, Ruby is with my brother, so feel free to head on inside. I'll be waiting out here to greet Weiss and Blake if you need me."

"You're so young, and yet you're already trying to be a gentleman. I'm honestly impressed." Yang smirked. She winked at Kval and went on inside, thus leaving him all alone to his job of greeting Weiss and Blake once they arrive. "Just try not to smile too hard when they get here!" she called out.

Kval chuckled. "What does that supposed to mean? And yet you say that despite knowing that I'm older than you." After making sure that Yang was already inside, he took a couple of steps forward and sat down on the porch, resting his chin on the palm of his left hand. "Well," he mumbled. "looks like I'll be sitting here for a while."

And boy how excited he was right now.

That's pure sarcasm right there.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby called out.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing to Ruby!?" Yang yelled from somewhere inside the house, unintentionally causing a smile to appear on Kval's face. "You let her go this instant!"

"I'm not allowed to play with her cheeks now? What are you, her grandma?" was Terumi's response, sounding annoyed for obvious reasons. "Go clean the toilet or something."

Kval found himself chuckling at his brother's rude response, only for him to laugh a little when he heard loud noises of Yang throwing around insults, in which all of them were directed to his older brother. "I know that annoying others is your specialty and all, but would it kill you to tone it down a bit?" he said, which immediately reminded him…of a certain someone he knew. _Yeah, tone it down…like him._

The sound of glass shattering came from the kitchen, but Kval remained where he was on the porch. Not that he refused to care, but instead it was because he was too busy with his thoughts to do so.

 _Speaking of annoying others, it has been quite a while since I have last seen my other brother. Not that I miss him or anything. He is probably fooling around in his office like usual._ Kval started tapping a finger against his cheek, his eyes focused on the clouds above as if they were alive and entertaining him. _It would be nice if he were to drop by every once in a while, but I doubt that would happen. With how things are currently, he probably has a lot on his plate. And with that said, Terumi would surely be extremely unhappy if he were to drop by anyway._ Kval later sighed at the unwanted memory which came flooding into his mind like a large tsunami. _Deary me._ _Why can't those two just get along for once? It's been years since then…_

In his opinion, the two were being nothing but a couple of childish adults. If he knew a way to settle their differences without much trouble, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

Kval found himself sighing again. "Why do I have two troublesome older brothers?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Even _I_ have no answer to that question," a voice answered.

Kval's eyes widened. "Eh?" He quickly turned to where the voice originated from, and was somewhat relieved to see Weiss standing a few feet away from him with a smile on her usually scowling face. If it was anyone else, other than Blake of course, then he probably would have called out Ouroboros in order to take them out. Old habits die hard, as they say. "Oh, it's just you-"

But as it turned out, his brain failed to register the fact that Weiss was standing beside an older woman who seemed to be around Terumi's age.

Kval was surprised, to say the least.

Oh boy. He was never good when it came to dealing with people who he was unfamiliar with, so this might be a challenge.

 _Calm down, Kazuma. She is an adult, not a child like you are. Just do what you always do in the past,_ Kval reminded himself internally. _Be polite. Politeness is the key. Smiling is also important._

"So," the woman started, her icy eyes examining Kval's body up and down as if he were some sort of new and disgusting product which just recently came up on sale. "this is him?"

Weiss nodded, smiling brightly. "Yes. That is him."

"I expected him to be somewhat…" The woman squinted her eyes. "…taller."

 _Taller? Me? Surely you jest._ Kval, putting up his usual polite mask, offered the older woman a smile so polite that it would put a well-trained butler to shame. He went up to his feet and slightly lowered his head in her direction. "Pardon me for my rudeness, Miss. I should have introduced myself the moment I laid my eyes on you, but instead I found myself staring at you like a bumbling fool. Do forgive me." Kval lifted his head a bit, and directed his attention to Weiss this time. "That goes to you too, Weiss. That greeting I gave you earlier was…unacceptable, to say the least. Please accept my apology."

Weiss blinked five times in the span of one second, mouth agape.

The older woman stared at the polite child, wide-eyed and baffled.

Seeing that he received no response, Kval lowered his head once more. "I apologise. Was I being a bit too eager? If so, then-"

"No. Please, it is fine," the older woman said, who appeared to look a lot less intimidating and scary than she was before. In fact, she looked to be rather sheepish. "I was just…surprised. There is no need to apologise."

Weiss said nothing, but instead she found herself nodding.

"Well, in that case," Kval straightened himself up and held out a hand in the older woman's direction. "let me introduce myself properly this time." He smiled. "Kazuma Kval, at your humble service."

"Winter. Winter Schnee." The woman, who now went by the name of Winter Schnee, accepted the offered hand and gave it a small shake. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Weiss' older sister."

Kval chuckled. "Likewise, Miss Schnee."

"Um…" a voice sounded from the distance. "We aren't…interrupting anything, are we?"

"I think we are," another voice added.

Winter flinched. She quickly pulled her hand away and turned to meet the newcomers, and the sight of who they were made her look away, which was probably due to old habits or something, Kval noted. "M-Miss Belladonna!" she exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "N-No, you are not."

 _Belladonna?_ Kval cocked an eyebrow at the familiar name. He turned to where Winter was facing moments before she turned away, and Blake was the first person who caught his attention, before it was quickly directed towards the older woman who she was holding hands with. _Oh. Well, that was quick. I thought I was going to be waiting out here for about an hour or two, but hey, apparently luck is on my side for today._ He smiled. _Now, I think it would be best for me to assume that she's Blake's sister, since she appears to be around Miss Schnee's age and all._

The older woman who was with Blake gave out a deep sigh. "Were you 'testing' others again? If so, then that's not nice." She shook her head, much to Winter's embarrassment. "At this rate, when will you ever be able to find yourself a boyfriend? In fact, you'll probably scare away men with good potential rather than attract them with that scowling face of yours! Oh dear, you need help…"

Winter, who was as red as a tomato by now, covered her face and turned away. "I don't want to hear that from you, Kali!" she exclaimed.

The older woman, who now Kval noted as Kali, shook her head once more and made her way over towards the blushing Schnee. "Now now, there is no reason to be embarrassed about this." She smiled. "I'm sure that there's someone out there somewhere. But back to the main topic at hand, stop intimidating people who you are unfamiliar with. It's bad for you," she scolded.

"I know, so stop nagging at me," Winter mumbled.

"Um…I have no idea what's going on, but I'm Kazuma Kval," Kval said, locking eyes with Kali. "It's nice to meet you-"

Kali reached out and ruffled Kval's hair in a gentle manner, taking the child completely by surprise. "Drop the formalities, my dear. My name's Kali Belladonna, but you can just call me Kali. I honestly don't mind." She gave Kval a soft and gentle smile. "I'm Blake's mother."

"I-I see. Then-" Kval suddenly gasped out loud and sucked in too much air which ended up with him coughing, wide-eyed. It was as if the entire world was crashing all around him. "M-Mother!?" he exclaimed.

Blake narrowed her eyes at Kval's sudden behavior. "Hey, do you have a problem with my mom?"

Kali tilted her head to one side, equally as confused as Winter upon witnessing the child's weird reaction to her announcing that she was Blake's mother. "Is something the matter, sweetie?" she questioned.

"W-Well…I…" Kval stuttered and stammered, losing his cool as a small blush found its way up to his pale cheeks. He scratched the back of his head, eyes glued onto the ground, then shyly admitted, "I actually assumed that you were Blake's older sister. My mistake."

Blake furrowed her brows. "Did you now?"

Kali, on the other hand, brought up a hand to her lips and giggled. "Oh, you're flattering me, aren't you? I don't look _that_ young, now do I?" she said.

"N-No no! You do look young!" Kval admitted, laughing sheepishly at that. "The fact that you're already a mother threw me off the rails for a second there! H-Haha…"

 **-IIXII-**

"So now you're going to torment _my_ cheek!?" Yang shouted. Seeing that there was no other way out of the situation that she had found herself in, Yang decided to come up with a simple idea which involved her pulling Terumi's hand away from her poor cheek, but it was clearly a vain attempt at best. "Let go, you turd!"

"Oh? I never did say that I was going to torment your cheek, now did I?" Terumi chuckled darkly, his sadistic grin widening ever so slightly as he kept pulling at the girl's cheek more and more without a damn care in the world. "Hehehe…"

Yang whined. "Then why-"

Without even feeling the urge to wait and listen to what she was about to say to him, Terumi quickly reached out with his other hand and took Yang's other cheek hostage, causing her to yell out in pain. "I said I was going to torment _both_ your cheeks!" he exclaimed, literally acting like a child. "Hahahahahaha! Take that!"

"Gweh! S-Stop it!" Yang shouted out, her eyes now crimson due to the rage building up inside of her. "Ow! I said stop it!"

Terumi smirked. "And why should I listen to you again? Hah! I'm going to pinch your cheeks so hard that-"

 _Boom!_

A few seconds later, Terumi found himself slamming into the hard wall of the living room, which utterly confused him in every possible way imaginable. He tried moving around his arms in order to push himself off the wall, but that ended up giving him more pain rather than what he actually wanted. But in all seriousness, how in the hell did he even ended up there in the first place?

"H-How…?" Terumi stuttered, which was a pretty damn good question.

Ruby, who had been watching the two interact with one another from the couch the whole time, gasped out loud before a wide grin came creeping across her face. "Yang did the fire thing again! Yay!" She started clapping repeatedly while laughing in a cute manner, acting as if nothing dangerous had just occurred right in front of her very eyes.

Yang panted and panted, and when her eyes finally reverted back to their original color, she ran up to Terumi and gave him a sweet punch to the gut. "That's what you get, you turd!" she shouted.

"Guha!" Terumi coughed out. "T-This…was unexpected…" Those words were his last before his whole body went limp. He would have passed out right then, but when his body suddenly came crashing hard onto the floor, the pain it caused prevented him from falling unconscious. "Gah!"

Yang held her head up high and gave her caretaker a disgusted stare, arms folded as her eyes briefly flashed red. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she muttered.

"What's with all the mess?"

"Yeah! Yang, what did you do this time?"

"Huh?" Yang quickly turned herself around, and was unable to hold back the urge to smile widely when her eyes caught the sight of Weiss and Blake entering the living room. Momentarily forgetting about the damage she had done, Yang started waving at the two in an excited manner. "Hey! You're both here already!" she exclaimed.

Weiss crossed her arms. "Well of course! Father and Mother were busy again, like usual, so where else was I supposed to go? And I can't possibly bother my older sister, so that's out of the question."

Blake nodded. "I'm in the same situation as well. My parents are going to attend some sort of meeting later today."

Yang chuckled. "So it's the usual then," she concluded.

"You have no idea, but enough of that. Back to the main topic at hand, what did you do this time?" Weiss questioned. "The wall is practically cracked because of you!"

Yang started sweating bullets. "Oh, that? Well…uh…" She turned to Terumi, slowly taking in the sight of him still lying across the floor and not showing any signs of getting up, before giving off a sheepish laugh. "He made me angry. H-Hahaha…"

"This is no laughing matter, you damn brat!" Terumi roared. He quickly pushed himself off the floor and towered over the little girl who caused him so much pain just moments before, his entire body emitting some sort of dark aura as the anger inside of him began to grow bigger and bigger. "You little…demon," he growled. "Speaking of which, I never did get the chance to pay you back after that little tissue incident…"

"Hey, you started it!" Yang retorted, not at all frightened by the sudden change in her caretaker's behavior. "You're just being a turd because you were punched by a little girl!" She smirked. "Suck it."

Yeah. That got him good.

"Why you little-"

"Wait," Blake sounded, freezing everyone in place unintentionally. "where's Kazuma? Shouldn't he be with us by now?"

"Well now that you mention it," Weiss looked to Blake, confused and somewhat curious. "what's taking him so long?"

Terumi found himself blinking a couple of times upon realising that his younger sibling was nowhere to be seen inside the living room. He tilted his head to one side, his body no longer emitting the same dark and dangerous aura from before, and later squinted his eyes due to confusion. "Good question. Just where the hell is he?"

 **-IIXII-**

"I know she looks scary at first glance, but believe me when I say…" Kali knelt down and leaned in towards Kval's ear, invading his personal space for a brief moment. "…that Winter is actually a softy on the inside. I went to her apartment once, and I have to say that her room is always flooded with-"

"Kali!" Winter shouted with reddened cheeks. "I don't know what you're whispering to that boy, and I don't care! You better knock it off!"

Kali giggled and went back to her full height. From what Kval could guess, she probably whispered all those things to him just to get a reaction out of Winter, which was definitely working judging by how red Winter's face was from what he was able to see. Her head might as well blow up at this rate.

Kval let out a nervous chuckle. "You sure love to tease others…"

Kali winked at Kval and turned away. "It's a habit of mine, apparently." She giggled. "Now, I have to go and attend a meeting, so please look after my daughter for me if that's okay with you. I know she can be quite blunt at times, but…deep down, she means well." Kali curled her lips into a motherly smile as she gave Kval one last glance. "I will be seeing you later then, Kazuma. I might give the house a call if anything comes up on my end, so stay alert."

"A-Ah…" Kval nodded. "Got it, Miss Belladonna."

Kali chuckled. "Just Kali is fine." And with that said, she walked off.

Kval watched as Kali went on ahead, being somewhat silent as he did so. _She's…nice,_ he admitted. _It'd be great if I could get to know her better. I really need more nice adults like her in my life to guide me around when I actually need guidance…_

Winter cleared her throat, catching Kval's undivided attention. "I shall take my leave as well. Do take care of my little sister for me," she said.

"Will do, Miss Schnee." Kval smiled. "Your little sister is in good hands, so worry not." Though on the inside, Kval was actually praying that his words wouldn't turn against him someday. _In the hands of my older brother. Now that's a worrying thought right there, but she doesn't need to know that. Not yet, at least. For now, I'll just ease her worries._

"Also," Winter brought a fist to her mouth and faked a cough, eyes half-lidded. "what did you hear from Kali?" she asked in a quiet voice, sounding as if she was worried of what she might hear from his response.

Kval, being himself, decided to play it safe. "She didn't say anything, Miss Schnee. In fact, you interrupted her right before she was even able to finish her sentence. So with that said, the Nice Timing Award goes to you. Congratulations." He chuckled at his own poor joke in order to lighten up the mood a bit, and actually succeeded if only for a little bit.

"T-That so? Well then." Winter faked another cough, this time facing her head to the side as if to avoid the child's gaze. She then cleared her throat and fully turned herself around, taking small steps to wherever she was heading, most likely to work. Again, wherever that was. "Thank you for your honest answer. I shall take my leave now."

"Have a safe trip, Miss Schnee," Kval called out, waving at her.

Winter spared the child a brief glance, and later found herself smiling, albeit a tiny bit. _Weiss was right. For a boy his age, he is far more polite than I would have ever anticipated. How interesting…_

 **-IIXII-**

"What took you so long? I was actually starting to worry this time!" Terumi ran up to his younger sibling and started pinching his cheek like how he did with Yang and Ruby just moments ago. He then squinted his eyes, staring into Kval's yellow orbs with his own. "You were slacking off, weren't you? Admit it!" he accused.

"W-What? I would never do that!" Kval easily freed his cheek from his brother's fingers and sighed. He took his time and dusted off his clothes, rolling his eyes later on. "Leaving you alone in a house filled with children will just end up giving me nightmares at night…" he mumbled.

"I bet he was flirting with my mom," Blake sounded, earning a loud gasp from Weiss as well as a loud laugh from Yang.

"Huh!?" Kval turned to Blake, wide-eyed and offended. "I would never do-"

Blake immediately gave Kval a sharp stare, silencing him in just mere moments. "Are you trying to tell me that my mom is not good enough?" she questioned.

"W-Wha…? I-I never said that, I just…" Kval, realising his mistake, narrowed his eyes. He was now fully aware that Blake was toying around with him. "Hey! Why are we even talking about this in the first place!?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Because your reaction was amusing to watch," she simply replied, smirking.

"I agree with Blake!" Yang laughed, and ended up laughing louder when Kval shot a betrayed look in her direction. Heck, she almost found it to be adorable, or maybe she even did! She stopped laughing, however, when Ruby came walking up behind her and started tugging her shirt. "Huh? Hey Ruby, what's up?"

"Yang," Ruby blinked. "what does flirting mean?"

For some reason, that question alone succeeded in putting a stop to Yang's brain. She wasn't even able to come up with an appropriate answer, but don't get her wrong or anything. Yang knew what the darn word meant, but she just…has problems when it comes down to the describing part.

"Uh…well…" Yang started scratching the back of her head, while her eyes turned to a certain faunus for immediate assistance. "About that…"

Blake, immediately noticing this, sighed. "You handle this yourself, Yang," she said. "I am in no position to explain that to her."

"B-But-"

"Anyway!" Terumi interrupted, gaining the attention of everyone inside the living room. "Explanation of that word aside, what do you kids prefer to do? I honestly don't know much about being a caretaker, so I have to admit that I might need a little bit of help on that." Terumi made his way over to the couch and sat down, eyeing each and every one of the kids besides Kval. "Summer's paying me to take care of you, so the least I could do is do what I'm supposed to do in a proper manner."

Kval smirked. "For once, you're actually serious about this…"

Terumi glared at Kval, but rest assured that he wasn't really offended by the words of his little brother. "Of course I am!" he replied. "What do you take me for?"

For some reason, Yang started snickering. "A turd…" the blonde whispered to herself.

Terumi growled, but ultimately decided to let that one slide.

"Brother, I almost forgot!" Kval suddenly said, slamming a fist into his own palm. "If I remember correctly, you were supposed to meet with someone today. Why not bring all of us along?"

Terumi snapped his fingers, facing Kval. "Thanks for reminding me. After all the shit I went through, I kinda forgot about that myself."

Blake raised an eyebrow, not liking where this was going. "So what you're trying to say is that we're going to spend the day walking around outside?" she said.

Terumi nodded. "That pretty much explains it, yeah. So with that being said, we'll be leaving in a few minutes from now," he announced. "Bring what's necessary."

"What!?" Yang, Blake, and Weiss, exclaimed in unison. Out of all of them, Ruby was the only one who seemed to be excited about their little trip.

"Hehe…" Terumi smirked, as the face of a certain jackass neighbour he knew came popping up in his mind. "I hope you won't mind having visitors, Raggy Boy. And also you better pray that you won't get fired because of me…"

 **-IIXII-**

"So, have you gotten used to it yet?"

Ragna turned to his senior, Velvet, and shrugged his shoulders in response. "I guess. But I still don't understand why I'm not fired yet, despite the fact that I have a shitty smile and currently operating the register, a position where I will _always_ have to deal with customers. Funny, isn't it?" he said, being all sarcastic on that last part.

Velvet gave out a sheepish laugh. "W-Well…I wouldn't exactly call your smile _that_ , but rather, it's…" She paused, choosing her words carefully. "…somewhat unfriendly with children."

"How does that make it any better!?" Ragna found himself shouting, earning a small giggle from Velvet as well as a death glare from his other senior, Coco.

"We are _still_ working, and there are still _customers_ inside the café. Quiet down, or else I will _order_ you to start packing," Coco warned, and Ragna knew that it would be best to not take that threat lightly, lest he wanted to end up finding another job again.

And so, Ragna sighed. "Right. Heard you loud and clear…"

"Yeah you better," Coco muttered. "I'm surprised a man as intimidating as you are chose to work instead of robbing stores in order to gain money."

"Coco!" Velvet scolded.

"What? I'm just saying!" Coco shrugged. "It's actually an interesting thing to think about, y'know. I mean, just look at him! That uniform doesn't match with his face at all! And in my opinion, his face practically screams villain and murder!"

Ragna can honestly say that he immediately felt _slightly_ offended upon listening to Coco's little rant about himself. Hell, if he had been given a choice on the matter, then he probably would have never chosen to wear the white shirt and green apron that the café had prepared for him in the first place.

"Hey. If you have a problem with how I look in this uniform, then tell that straight to my face," Ragna growled, right before a dark grin came breaking out on his features. "Wait. You're not scared, are you? Though, I can completely understand if that's the case…"

"Hold on a second there. Would you run that by me again, please?" Coco turned to face Ragna, her sunglasses thankfully hiding the intense glare which she was shooting in the white-haired man's direction. Without her shades, she probably would have scared away all the customers and gotten herself fired. "Listen pal. I don't know why, but I suddenly feel like you're trying to start something here. With _me_ , to be more precise."

"U-Uh…" Velvet sounded, but was ultimately ignored by the two, much to her chagrin.

"You're probably just being paranoid," Ragna assured in a low voice, and yet the dark grin from before still remained in place. "Swallow some pills. I'm sure it would help. Or perhaps, you want me to do it for you."

Coco gritted her teeth. "I'll-"

"What?" Ragna challenged, his face darkening ever so slightly. "Punch my teeth out? I dare you. Go ahead. I double dare you!" By now, his anger was probably getting the better of him.

Well, it was safe to say that the two were successful in terms of catching the full attention of their customers. In a bad way, that is.

Velvet, feeling that she should stop the situation before it could get any worse than it already has, decided to speak up in order to prevent her two friends from getting fired. "U-Um, I think we-"

But all of a sudden, the entrance leading to their café was kicked open from the outside, much to everyone's surprise.

Velvet quickly faced the entrance with her rabbit ears shot straight up on the top of her head, alarmed. "What the-"

"Hands in the air!" a voice demanded in a cocky manner.

Instincts kicking in, Velvet, Coco, as well as Ragna, grabbed the nearest object each of them could find and prepared themselves for the worst. Literally a second later, Velvet had countless of forks in her arsenal, while Coco was lucky enough to get her hands on a pair of kitchen knives, and as for Ragna…

All he had was a spoon.

Like always, his damn luck decided to toy around with him rather than take his current situation seriously.

"Damn it!" Ragna, narrowing his eyes at the entrance, quickly threw his small weapon at the attacker with so much force that he somehow managed to knock a couple of chairs to the floor. Thankfully they were not occupied. "Eat a spoon whoever you are!" he roared.

 **-IIXII-**

 **I bet my balls that some of you are excited for the next chapter.**

 **Anyway, look! New characters!**

 **Winter Schnee - 25**

 **Kali Belladonna - 32**

 **Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you liked!**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	14. Special 005

**Hey readers, it's me again with another special. I'm still working on the latest chapter, so please excuse my tardiness. Also Happy New Year to all you people out there!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi furrowed his brows as he took in the sight of little Ruby chugging down the large bottle of strawberry juice soda like a young thirsty little puppy. Now he was not one to worry too much when it came to others, but he would be lying if he said that watching the little kid chugging down three bottles in a row was not worrying. Heck, did Summer even allow her to drink that much?

It was hard for him to focus on the television at this point, thanks to Ruby. On the other hand, _she_ seemed to somewhat enjoy the cooking show he had been watching for no reason for the past hour. Probably because she was bored as well. None of her friends were here yet anyway, so that was probably why.

 _Now if I remember correctly, there are a few more of those bottles in the fridge,_ Terumi thought, eyeing the pathway that would lead to the kitchen. _Let's…try a little something._

The miserable excuse for a caretaker shut off the television and, as he predicted, saw Ruby running off to the kitchen for more juice. With a sigh, Terumi brought a hand up and snapped his fingers, which for some reason caused the young girl to whine loudly from the kitchen.

Moments later Ruby came running back into the living room and stood right in front of Terumi. She began to pout at the man as hard as she could, making him wonder what she was trying to accomplish.

"Can I help you, kid?" Terumi asked, though he knew what was coming.

"There's a long green chain in the kitchen, and it's wrapped around the fridge!" Ruby exclaimed. "You did that, didn't you? Can you please remove it?"

Terumi raised an eyebrow. "And why should I do that?"

In response, Ruby blushed in embarrassment and started scratching her cheek, keeping her eyes downwards. "B-Because…I want juice," she mumbled.

"Oh no, you have been drinking that same juice throughout the whole day." Terumi leaned forward and poked the little girl on the forehead, glaring at the same time. "Go get yourself some water for a change," he said.

"No!" Ruby slapped his finger away from her forehead and glared back at him. "I want juice!"

Terumi sighed. She was sure as hell good when it came to being stubborn. Just like Summer. "I can't do that. Like I said, you've been-"

"Juice!" Ruby interrupted, much to Terumi's annoyance. "Juice! I want juice!" she shouted.

Okay. This was really not good for his mood.

"Look kid," Terumi started as he tried keeping his anger in check. "you've had enough of that juice, and drinking more of that damn juice will-"

"I said I want juice!" Ruby yelled. "Juice! Get me juice!"

In that one brief instant, the room went extremely cold.

And somewhere inside Terumi, he snapped.

"Now who the _fuck_ do you think you're talking to!? Being a stubborn little shit and all! You said you want juice? No! I say _no_! Do you get me!? Now go get yourself some water or else!" Terumi roared, so loud that it would put the fearsome Black Beast itself to shame.

Then everything went deathly silent.

For a short moment anyway.

Terumi leaned back and heaved a heavy sigh, all due to his earlier outburst. He hated doing that, especially when it came to dealing with children. Even if he appeared to be a dick at first glance, he has his own set of rules. Such as not screaming at innocent little kids like Ruby, though that alone was hard to accomplish when you consider the fact that he has problems with controlling his temper. Weiss, however, was okay to scream at. He had decided that _long_ ago…

"Guh…" Ruby sounded.

"Huh?" Terumi glanced at the young child, before paling quite a bit at the sight of her silently holding back her tears. "E-Eh? Hey, you doing okay? Y-You're not…upset or anything, are you?" he asked, which was quite a stupid thing to do to be honest. _He_ was the one who screamed at her to begin with. "Ruby?"

"Uwaaah!"

And so she cried, thus leaving her caretaker in a panicked state.

Thanks to his body reacting quicker than his utterly useless brain, Terumi picked up the crying child and later set her down onto his lap. But he was completely out of ideas after that.

Talking was his only option for now.

"Come on, don't cry now. If Summer sees you like this…" Terumi shuddered. That woman. Despite looking all cute and innocent, she could be downright terrifying in her own way. "…I'll be in serious trouble." Yeah. As if saying things like that would stop her from crying. "Do you want to watch a movie? How about a cartoon, would you like that?" He kept his eyes on the still crying Ruby, patiently awaiting her response, but was unprepared when she suddenly threw a punch right at his face. "Ow! That hurt!"

That was probably her telling him to shut up in her own way.

Fortunately, with some effort that took roughly around half an hour, Terumi managed to calm her down. Though it was a miracle that the whole damn house was not filled with tears by now.

The living room was filled with awkward silence.

Right now, the two sat on the opposite ends of the couch, silently staring at anywhere but each other due to the earlier incident. The sight was rather cute, in a way.

Too bad Terumi thought otherwise.

 _Shit. She's going to tell Summer. This little kid is going to get me killed today, and I ain't cool with that! Come on, think of something you asshole! Think! Maybe I should-_

Luckily, little Ruby decided to break the ice by leaning her head onto her caretaker's side, catching him undoubtedly by surprise. When she started moving was a mystery, though that was unimportant. Ruby sniffled a bit, then mumbled, "I want water."

"Huh?" Terumi gazed down at the child, blinking, before smiling a small and playful smile. "I see. You sure you don't want juice instead?" he asked.

It seemed that he was not the only one who was troubled. Saying that she wanted to drink water only goes to show how guilty she started to feel after calming down. And just by thinking about that made him feel bad for shouting at her earlier, so now it was official.

Both of them were in the wrong.

He could live with that.

"N-No…" Ruby rubbed at her eyes, wiping the remaining tears away. "I-I want water…"

"Well," Looking elsewhere, Terumi reached out and patted Ruby on the head. "water it is then."

As for Ruby, she found herself smiling.

 **-IIXII-**

 **This one was honestly inspired by the video 'Katsuki's Daughter' on Youtube. It was beyond hilarious!**

 **Anyway, CPL signing out.**


	15. Special 006

**Here is another special!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"You dumb dog!"

"You jackass!"

And the two were officially at it again.

Thanks to Ragna and Terumi, none of the kids nearby even dared to enter the playground anymore. Seeing the two intimidating men screaming and cursing towards one another would scare away anyone, and not to mention that they were on the verge of pulling out their respective weapons for obvious reasons.

Though two kids in particular were unafraid. In fact, they were sitting under a tree together without a care in the world, looking as if the sight of the two men arguing and cursing was a common thing for them to see in their daily lives.

"So," Kval started. "who do you think will win this time?" He offered the girl sitting beside him a small smile, which soon earned him a cute little smile in return from said girl. "For me, it's the usual. My brother, of course," he said.

Saya giggled. "You never change, do you? But I have no right to say that, because my answer will always remain the same as it always has been. My brother."

Kval chuckled. "Figures. So, how is Ragna doing with his new work? He isn't beating himself every single day, is he?" The young boy closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax for a change. It was hard for him to find an opportunity like this one where he could just sit somewhere outside relaxing under a tree and have a nice chat with someone he knew all too well, since his daily life has been filled with his older brother's antics for as long as he could remember. His alone time has always have been limited, after all. "I know your brother is a hard worker and all, but…"

"Yes, he is." Saya looked up to the sky above with a small pout, not because she was avoiding the sight of her dearest older brother getting slammed into a seesaw, no, but just because she wanted to. "It's totally fine with me though, to be honest. Working so hard to the point where he gets himself sick just goes to show how much he loves me."

"Huh. I get you." Kval nodded. But one thing was surely bothering him, and he just had to get it out before it could bother him any further. "By the way, don't you get lonely when you're all alone in the apartment? I heard that your brother occasionally comes back late from work." He wanted to add the question if she was scared, but soon shot it down due to realising that this was Saya whom he was talking to. The little lady was brave and scary in her own way. In a way, the two were quite similar. "How do you deal with that?"

Saya held a finger to her chin, her eyes locked onto one of the clouds above with a thoughtful look on her face. "Well my big brother was worried about that himself when he first started working at the café, but I simply eased his worries by telling him that I want to prove to him that I can handle myself all on my own. I also made it clear that I wanted to learn how to properly cook for myself. He was really proud of me when I said all that to him, but at the same time he looked uncertain for some weird reason." She released a small sigh, though that did not stop her from cracking up a smile. "Big brother instincts, right?" she joked.

Kval rolled his eyes at that, smirking. " _Totally_. Nothing out there beats the big brother instinct. Though I have to wonder why your brother was uncertain, despite feeling proud at the same time…" Yeah. Surely it had nothing to do with Saya's cooking or anything…

"Just him being my overprotective big brother, most probably," Saya said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, it has to be."

 **"Black Onslaught!"**

 **Orochizantō Reppūga**

"Oh dear. And there they go," Kval thought out loud as he eyed the epic scene happening in the near distance along with Saya, and yet he did not look all that interested. Not even a bit. "I know this is weird of me for asking, but do you want to do anything? It's going to take a while for these two to settle things, so I couldn't help but wonder." Kval immediately raised an eyebrow when he felt pressure on his shoulder, and with a quick look it revealed that Saya was leaning onto him. If it was anyone else, he would have been flustered, but Saya was one of the people who he had gotten used to knowing. It did not bother him in any capacity. "You doing okay there?" he asked, his lips curling into a smile.

"I'm just…" Saya released a small yawn, her eyes clearly revealing how exhausted she was at the moment. "…a bit out of it. Maybe it's the weather. How about we rest under this tree instead of doing anything else. Sound good? And you wouldn't mind if I borrow your comfy shoulder for a bit, would you? If I knew I was going to get this tired, then I would have brought along a small pillow…"

"Yeah, go ahead. As long as you don't drool on me." Kval received a weak little elbow strike to the side for that one, though even then he still found himself laughing at his own little joke. A quick look at Saya revealed that she was slightly upset, and so he decided to apologise. "Sorry. The urge to joke around was too much for me. No hard feelings?"

"Just shut up and let me rest," Saya grumbled.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Now that I have taken a closer look, I realised how similar Ragna and Terumi are in this story. Y'know, like having personal problems with their younger brothers respectively, and having to deal with shit that fate has to throw their way every once in a while. But more notably, Saya and Kazuma. Yeah. Their respective smart youngest siblings.**

 **Huh. It took me a while to notice that, to be honest. Oh well.**

 **Anyway, CPL signing out.**


	16. Fake Robbers And Unexpected Reunion

**Welcome to the tenth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **And I'm late. Dammit. The reason was because I was having trouble with piecing this story together, but now all is fine. For the most part, that is. I still need to polish some things here and there...**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Indeed! When Ragna's involved, things tend to go to shit real quick.**

 **Lovnag: I have to agree with that. And what do you mean almost? I demand you to give him pity this instant!**

 **SifTheGreat: Difficult question is difficult. It depends on where this story is heading, to be honest. I tend to explore the unknown like a complete idiot, which is why this chapter came late in the first place. Oh, and thanks for reviewing the previous specials! Appreciate it.**

 **xDearestHeart2375x: Welcome aboard, my dear reader! I appreciate the reviews you've given me, and I also see that you've noticed some pretty interesting things during the early chapters regarding a certain Captain. Heh. Bravo. Be sure to look forward to the upcoming chapters, my friend.**

 **So with reviews aside, let's start reading!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi quickly brought a hand up to his face and caught the small speeding projectile with ease. Although catching the damn thing still caused pain in his palm, he still somehow managed to hide it by offering the one who threw it in the first place a cocky smirk.

"Yo, Raggy Boy," he greeted. "Did you seriously think that you could take me down with a spoon?"

Ragna widened his eyes, shocked. "Terumi? Y-You're…"

"Yep! There's no one else but _me_! Anyway, is that your uniform? Hehe…" The asshole who was known as Ragna's jackass of a neighbour started laughing uncontrollably, no doubt due to the sight of Ragna in his work uniform. "I honestly can't believe it! Guhaha! You look out of place! Like, for real! Hahahaha!"

 _This…asshole. Showing up from nowhere and the first thing he does is irritate me. Who does he think he is!? If it weren't for me working right now, I would have ripped his guts out and have his corpse paraded throughout the whole town!_

Ragna did not take the comment too well apparently, judging by the violent thoughts which were currently swimming around inside his head. Though before he could think of anything else, an idea came barreling its way into his mind, and that idea alone made him smirk in a sinister manner. He then quickly turned to a confused Coco, quickly replacing his smirk with a fake panicked expression. "Coco, what are you waiting for!? That's a damn robber! Do something!" he yelled.

Terumi immediately stopped laughing. He then stared at Ragna with confusion evident in his serpentine eyes. "Eh?"

Coco, upon realising the dangerous situation they were in, started glaring at the newcomer. "You don't have to tell me, jackass!" And with that, she prepared the pair of knives in her hands and threw them directly at her intended target. "Velvet!" she called out.

"R-Right!" Velvet nodded. She followed Coco's example and threw each and every fork she had in her arsenal at the dangerous robber, much to Ragna's absolute delight. "Yah!"

"W-Wait! Hey!" Terumi yelled, but no one bothered to listen.

Ragna, now with a full-blown slasher smile almost completely taking over his face, took the chance and grabbed Blood-Scythe which was hidden somewhere behind the counter, as it was actually prepared for this exact reason. He charged his right arm, then with a strong swing of his large blade, a dark creature resembling a shark's head came charging its way towards Terumi. **"Dead Spike!"** he roared.

Terumi, busying himself with avoiding the knives and forks, was unfortunate enough to notice the dark creature when it was just a few inches away from him, specifically his face. "What-"

The last thing he saw before he was blown out of the café was the cruel slasher smile on Ragna's face.

 **-IIXII-**

Kval started tapping his foot repeatedly as he glared at his wristwatch, before redirecting his attention towards the entrance leading towards the café. "What is taking him so-" His brother then came barreling out of the café before he was able to finish his sentence, right on schedule. He clicked his tongue, seemingly annoyed. "Somehow, I knew this would happen…" he muttered.

"I-Is your brother going to be okay?" Yang asked, feeling slightly worried.

Kval swiftly put up a smile, quickly hiding away his annoyance. "He'll be fine. Now come on, let's head on inside before anything else starts happening." He walked on ahead, which prompted the girls to follow him from behind. "Since it'll take a bit of time for my brother to recover, I'll be your guide for today," he announced.

 _R-Recover from what, exactly?_ was the question that popped up in each of the girls' head, minus Ruby of course. Speaking of her, she was too busy looking worriedly at a certain asshole whom had his head slammed into a streetlight to actually follow Kval and the others. It was obvious where she was planning on heading in the next few moments.

"W-Wow. Seeing you so casually like this, I'm starting to worry about the fact that I don't know what you go through everyday," Yang commented, quickly earning her an elbow strike from a certain faunus. "Guh!"

"What Yang meant was that she's worried about you," Blake quickly added in, all the while ignoring the sour look sent her way by a certain blonde.

Wow. Kval wanted to laugh at how the girls viewed him, but he resisted. Why should they be worried? Him and his brother had gone through _way_ more dangerous events before in the past, and something as small as this was considered nothing to him. So in the end he just brushed it off with a shrug and entered the café like it was nobody's business.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss exchanged looks of worry with one another, but nevertheless the three girls still decided to follow him into the café in hopes of dropping the subject.

And once they entered…

"Kazuma!? What are you doing here?"

The three girls humorously jumped at the same time at the loud voice. They then turned their heads to Kval, just in time to see him wave at a tall white-haired man whom they were not familiar with.

"Why hello there, Ragna. How are you doing?" Kval asked, smiling that polite little smile of his. "I see that you have gotten yourself a new job. Congratulations."

And apparently the man's name was Ragna. Each of them took note of that.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. And I don't know about you, but I don't like having that asshole of a brother of yours to come barging his way in here again like earlier. If he wants in, then make sure you tell him that he should enter like how a regular customer would," Ragna said, sounding annoyed, but at the same time he looked satisfied with something for some odd reason. The look in his eyes gave it away.

Kval merely laughed in response. "I will."

Yang and the others blinked at the sight. "Is he…literally chatting with the same person whom just attacked his brother a few seconds ago?"

"I-I guess so," Weiss said.

Blake sighed. "Let's just go and find ourselves a nice table, shall we? I feel uncomfortable with all the stares we're getting from the other patrons. Now, come on."

 **-IIXII-**

She knew she was being stared at. It was obvious, apparently. Though being herself, she simply didn't care. The people around her weren't important, and if things could stay that way, then that was fine by her.

Ruby continued to waddle her way towards her groaning caretaker, as she felt genuinely worried for his well-being and whatnot. One glance at the man and you could tell that he was currently experiencing all kinds of hell, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

"That shitty asshole…" she heard him mutter over and over, and as curious as she was to know what those words actually meant, Ruby knelt down and took his hand.

"I-Is it painful?" Ruby asked, undoubtedly catching her caretaker off-guard. "Because it looked like it did." She noted him narrowing his eyes at her, and that alone made her confused as to why he was doing that. Was there something on her face?

"Aren't you supposed to be with the others?" Terumi, her lovely caretaker, asked in a somewhat annoyed manner. He pulled his hand away and began to grumble all sorts of nonsense to himself, and he made sure to be extra quiet for some odd reason.

Ruby tilted her head to one side, blinking confusedly as she eyed the man. Being her innocent and curious self, she felt the sudden urge to ask what he was grumbling about, but later decided that his health was top priority.

Little did Ruby know that he was actually cursing up a storm, particularly about a certain white-haired asshole he knew all too well.

So without knowing that, not that she needed to anyway, Ruby held out her hands towards her caretaker's forehead and did what her loving mother had taught her a few years back.

"What the…?" Terumi eyed the sweet child with furrowed brows, genuinely confused as to what she was attempting on doing. "Hey, just what are you-" He actually jumped a bit when the sight of her tiny frame emitting some sort of silver aura greeted his serpentine eyes. It resembled a lot like his own, but the only difference was that it wasn't dark and intimidating, as well as filled with murderous intent. And to be frank, whatever she was doing, it sure as hell ate up all of his pain away.

Hell, he felt a whole lot better already in fact!

Figuring that his pain was already fully gone, Ruby lowered her hands and let out a small breath of air, appearing to be somewhat tired. If anything, her body was still not quite used to using that ability, judging by the looks of things and all.

"Done," Ruby announced with a cheerful grin. "How do you feel, Mister Terumi?"

"I feel…" Terumi paused, as he still had trouble registering the fact that this child had just used some sort of healing magic on him. Nonetheless, he somehow managed to finish his short sentence some seconds later. "…good, I guess. Thanks."

"You're welcome!" Ruby exclaimed. "Now come on, let's join the others!" She grabbed her caretaker by the hand and attempted to pull him back up to his feet, but as determined as she was, she probably wouldn't be able to carry around a large rock with that small body of hers. So in the end, it was useless. "Guh! Come on!" she said.

Terumi remained where he was on the ground, but after a while of watching the determined child making a huge fool of herself, he finally decided to cut her some slack by lifting himself off the ground. "Fine. I'm up. You happy now?" he said, sounding annoyed but not.

Ruby nodded. "Yes. Now come on!" She then started dragging her caretaker over to the entrance of the café while under the assumption that he wouldn't mind being dragged around, in which he actually didn't, surprisingly.

"Calm the hell down, kid. It's not the end of the world or anything," Terumi said, rolling his eyes later on. "We can take our time. The others can wait."

"B-But we should-" Ruby suddenly paused.

Terumi raised an eyebrow when the child went silent. Curious, he briefly examined her face to see what was up, and just by doing that was enough to get him to understand what's happening. Something seemed to have caught her attention judging by how wide her eyes were, and with a quick look at where she was actually looking-

"Eh? A toy store?" Terumi sounded.

It wasn't anything special. Just a simple and small store with toys on display, and funnily enough it was just located right next to the café where the others were at. How he did not notice that when he first arrived kind of bothered him a bit…

"C-Can we-"

"No," Terumi quickly interrupted.

Ruby frowned and stared sadly at her feet. If she were a balloon, then she would most probably deflate by now. Poor thing.

"But," Terumi suddenly added in. "since you've just helped me with my pain earlier, a few minutes wouldn't hurt."

Ruby gasped and quickly turned her head up to face Terumi, grinning widely with a bit of excitement dancing around in her eyes. She couldn't believe it. "Really!?" she exclaimed.

Terumi briefly glanced at Ruby with his usual expressionless face, and then later shrugged in a casual manner as he said, "Sure. Go right ahead." Though right after he said that, he immediately took note of the strangers around them eyeing him as if he was some kind of suspicious individual, and he didn't hesitate to give them the finger as the expressionless look on his face quickly turned hostile. "And what the hell are you people looking at!? Scram!"

While Terumi was at it in public, Ruby, being her child-like self, wasn't patient enough when it came to exciting things such as entering a toy store, so before her loving caretaker could flip his bird at more pedestrians and bystanders, she tightened her hold on his hand and dragged him along with her.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed.

Though funny thing was, even though he was being dragged, Terumi still somehow found a way to keep showing his bird for all the people around him to see.

 **-IIXII-**

"Aren't we missing someone?"

"Ruby? H-Hey, where's Ruby!?"

Velvet stared weirdly at Ragna when the voices belonging to a couple of kids began to grow louder and louder from one of the tables inside the café. "Friends of yours?" she asked. "I didn't see much since I had to move to the back in order to clean some stuff up after dealing with that robber, but I pretty much heard you chatting with one of them."

"Friends? Well…I guess you could call him that. I'm unfamiliar with the girls though," Ragna replied with a genuinely confused look. "I never knew he had so many friends, but that aside, have you gone to that particular table and taken their orders yet? I ain't because they're girls there. You know what happened last time…"

Velvet actually shuddered at the memory. "R-Right. Well, seeing that Coco just went out there in order to collect back all the items we've used against that robber-"

For some reason, Ragna mysteriously turned away from Velvet, and his shoulders appeared to be somewhat shaking uncontrollably oddly enough. "Pfft…"

"Ragna?" Velvet tilted her head, somewhat confused. "You feeling okay?"

"H-Huh? O-Oh, right. Yeah. Just…just got a little something in my eye is all," Ragna answered with what appeared to be a strange little smirk on his face. "Ahem. Anyway, go and take their orders, now would you? Those kids are probably starving by now."

Velvet eyed the older man suspiciously. "Sure…"

So after making sure that she had her notepad with her, Velvet nodded to herself and walked off to the table with the intention of taking their orders. And like always, she made sure to smile.

But it was a pity that her smile wouldn't last long.

 **-IIXII-**

"Okay, why don't we all just calm down for a second and-"

Kval was unable to finish his sentence when an angry Yang Xiao Long came slamming her fist down onto the table, thus rendering him silent for a brief while as she started panicking like she did for the past few seconds.

"Calm down? Calm down!? Are you kidding me!? This is Ruby we're talking about!" Yang shouted. "She could have wandered off somewhere on her own and gotten herself kidnapped for all we know!"

Kval turned to Blake and Weiss, and noted that, unlike Yang who was panicking and shouting hysterically nonstop, were calm and collected, but it was evident in their eyes that they themselves were also worried about Ruby's well-being. As for himself, he was pretty much the calmest one out of all of them.

Because he knew where the little Rose went. Though it's just a hunch, and nothing else.

"Girls, please. Calm down for a second," Kval said in order to gain their undivided attention, in which he barely did. Just when Yang seemed as if she was about to interrupt him again, he took the initiative and interrupted her instead by flicking her on the forehead. "Listen, will you? Screaming and gaining the attention of the other patrons in this café will do us no good, and I have a small feeling that my brother has got Ruby taken care of. She was probably just worried about his well-being after seeing him hitting his head so hard and then decided to make sure that he wasn't badly injured. It's the only possible reason as to why she didn't follow us to begin with."

And so with that long explanation out of the way, Kval somehow successfully managed to calm each of the girls down to some extent. Calming others was one of the things that he was good at, after all, so it was no surprise to be perfectly honest.

"W-Well, now that you've said all that, Ruby _is_ the type to worry a lot when it comes to the well-being of others," Yang said, but she still sounded unsure of herself.

"I fully agree. Should we go and see if they're doing okay?" Weiss asked. "It wouldn't hurt."

Kval shook his head in response. "No. Just let my brother handle this. As you all may know, I want him to get used to working as a caretaker when I'm not around to monitor his every move as soon as possible. But if anything happens, I'll give him a good scolding and take responsibility," he clarified.

Blake stared at him, amazed no doubt. "Wow. You're…something. I will admit that."

"Oh am I now?" Kval simply chuckled. "Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I will admit, even I myself am not on the same level as you are in terms of being responsible and whatnot," Weiss admitted with a bit of shame evident in her voice, but still she was being genuine about it. "And yet you are basically the same age as us! I…I could learn a lot more from you."

Kval was flattered, truly he was, but even so there was one thing he needed to make clear. It's been bothering him for a while now, and _now_ is probably the best time to end it once and for all.

"I'm actually a year older than all of you," Kval pointed out, which immediately earned him a surprised gasp from a surprised Weiss. "Thought I'd let you know."

"Really!? I-I…" Weiss stuttered. "P-Pardon me for my rudeness, Kazuma. I only assumed that-"

"He practically told us his age the first time we've met," Blake pointed out for no reason, intentionally causing the Schnee girl to feel all the more embarrassed. "Apparently you were too busy glaring at his brother to actually listen. I'm disappointed in you, Weiss."

"N-Not my fault!" Weiss retorted. "H-How should I have known that?"

"Weiss, I have to admit that Blake's kinda right," Yang added in, momentarily forgetting about Ruby and the possible dangers that she could have gotten herself in. "And here I thought you were the smart one, other than Blake of course."

"S-Shut up!"

"No, _you_ shut up!" Yang retorted.

"What? You're the loud one!" Weiss shot back.

Kval opted to simply stare as the girls began to yell at one another, and he couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty because of this. He was the sole reason as to why this all started to begin with, though instead of saying anything in order to stop the girls from yelling and disturbing the other patrons any further, he simply chose to remain silent in his seat and took his time examining his surroundings.

The place was nice, he'll admit, though if the stares could stop then that would be great. But putting that aside, the whole place was finely decorated from what he could tell, and the humorous sight of Ragna struggling with the cash register somehow made it all the more better. Was he seriously always like that?

Kval nearly laughed. He should definitely tell Saya about this later. She would surely be delighted to hear silly tales about her brother during his time at work.

Then there was also this familiar-looking rabbit girl who was currently staring at him in utter shock and-

 _Wait._

 **-IIXII-**

Velvet dropped her notepad to the floor upon making direct eye contact with the green-haired child. Her mind went completely blank for a brief while, as it had a slight problem with registering the fact that _he_ was there staring back at her with probably the same expression she herself was displaying.

Fortunately the staring between the two didn't last too long as the child, whom had quickly recovered from his shock, nodded towards the exit.

Receiving the silent message, Velvet nodded in return and clumsily made her way over to Ragna, whom was stationed behind the counter and _still_ struggling with the register.

"Hey Ragna, would you mind taking over for a minute? I uh…have things to take care of," she said.

Ragna directed his full attention on Velvet, momentarily forgetting about the darn register, and later proceeded to cock an eyebrow in response. "Eh? I'm honestly not sure that's the best idea Vel-" He immediately took note of the look in her eyes, which stopped him from utterly completing his previous sentence. "Is everything okay?"

Velvet nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine. Now do me a small favor and take over for a bit, okay?" She put up a smile. "I won't take too long. I promise."

Ragna took his time staring at her with an unsure expression, but in the end he sighed and decided to just give in. There was no way in hell he could say no to that face she was making.

"Fine," he muttered. "Assuming that you have _not_ taken the orders of those kids yet, I'll be sure to do that instead as well as entertain them until you get back. Just don't blame me if anything bad happens, Velvet."

Velvet giggled. "I won't. And thank you, Ragna."

"Heh." Ragna grinned. "Don't mention it, you idiot. Now hurry up or else I'll start regretting my decision."

 **-IIXII-**

Kval watched as the rabbit girl turned to him and sent a nod his way, which meant that all that's left to do now is find a way to excuse himself from the three girls whom he was supposed to watch over.

Though as difficult as it sounded, for Kval it was actually quite simple really.

"Hey girls, I need to go outside and catch some air for a bit. You wouldn't mind if I leave, now would you?"

"Huh? Oh, sure. Go ahead," Yang answered, grinning. "We'll be here if you need us! Just don't take too long or else we'll get super bored in here."

"I see no problem with that as well. Like Yang said, go on ahead," Weiss added in.

See? Simple.

"Okay then. Thanks."

And so with that all said and done, Kval rose up from his seat and calmly made his way over to the exit.

All the while not noticing the suspicious stare that was directed his way by a suspicious Blake.

 _Something is definitely up, judging by how cautious he's being. Just what is he up to?_ was the question flying around inside her head right now. Though as curious as she was to know the truth, Blake was unable to do anything about it when a certain white-haired man came over to their table with a notepad and a pencil carried in each hand.

"Why hello there. Welcome to our little café. What can I get you girls?"

"Oh! Um, I'd like…" Yang started, but ended up gasping in shock after finally realising who this man was. "Wait a minute, it's you! The guy from that time! No wonder why Kazuma's brother was kicked out!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Yeah, Yang's right!" Weiss supported. "He was the man who interrupted Kazuma's brother when he tried to force Miss Rose into giving him money!"

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Well now that you've all mentioned it…"

The white-haired man, Ragna of course, was no doubt beginning to regret his decision of helping Velvet at this point. Just what in the world did he got himself into this time?

He just hoped that Velvet wouldn't take too long with whatever she's doing.

 **-IIXII-**

The two had chosen to sit by a bench situated not far from the café, and what a coincidence it was that the area had less people wandering around, just how the two actually wanted it to be.

And so there they sat, silent, staring ahead as they felt the gentle breeze blow against their faces, which then later caused them to momentarily close their eyes due to natural instinct. The silence wasn't an awkward one, that much was true. In fact, if anything, the two seemed to be comfortable around one another, judging by the small smiles currently being displayed on each of their faces.

The two just sat there, doing nothing as they listened to all the noises nature had in store for them. Birds chirping, wind brushing against leaves, and occasionally the sound of dogs barking in the far distance.

It was peaceful, simply put.

Then after a while of enjoying their comfortable silence together, the two finally decided to strike up a conversation.

"So," Velvet began. "how has life been treating you, Kazuma?"

"Okay, I guess," Kval replied. "It's…not as bad as I thought it would be. You?"

"Ups and downs, here and there, but things have gotten significantly better for me. Thanks to you, of course." Velvet giggled. "I never thought that I would ever meet you again, especially not like this. I was surprised."

"Well," Kval set his chin on the palm of his hand as he kept his eyes forward, his smile somewhat growing a bit. "I was pretty much shocked myself. And I should be thanking you as well. I honestly didn't know what I was thinking back then, but I consider myself lucky that you were there. I'm so grateful that I didn't just throw my second chance away without giving it some thought. And of course, you were the one who helped." He paused. "It's just hard to believe that it's been four years since then, when we've first and last met…"

This time, Velvet said nothing in return, but even then she knew quite well what Kval was talking about.

Even without words, the two knew that they were on the same page. Nothing was needed to be said for them to understand one another. The silence was more than enough.

It was a miracle that these two people, who had been on the verge of drowning themselves a few years back, somehow managed to barely keep each other afloat. Some would call it fate, but they just simply considered themselves lucky to have actually met that day.

That very day in which neither of them could forget, not that they planned to anyway.

"I see that you've made friends," Velvet noted, changing the subject.

Kval noticed this, but allowed it anyway. He didn't mind.

"I made a few," he said. "Which is something that I didn't expect to happen, mind you. I'm a loner, as you may no doubt know already."

Velvet smiled. "A loner, huh? Well, I can relate. As for me, I made a few friends myself and…"

And so, the two ended up chatting with one another without a care in the world. And they were so busy enjoying themselves that they didn't bother to check how much time had passed, despite Velvet promising Ragna that she'd be back in a few minutes, but frankly that didn't matter. Not anymore.

She was having too much fun to actually care.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Some things about this story aren't nice. Velvet and Kazuma's relationship is quite complicated, and not really something you'd expect to be, but we'll get to that when the time comes, along with some other things. And unfortunately this chapter didn't feature as much as I'd like, which is a real punch to the gut if you know what I'm saying. I planned to continue, but Internet is being a gigantic turd and won't let me. So with that said, I apologise.**

 **This is CPL, over and out.**


	17. Being Nice And Unpleasant Outcomes

**Welcome to the eleventh chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I know what you're all thinking. I'm early, and I know. Think of this quick update as an apology for me being late all the time. Yeah. And be sure to grab some snacks and sodas, because this chapter is gonna be a doozy!**

 **But before that, reviews!**

 **SifTheGreat: Wow, really? I was actually quite worried what my readers might think of that. To be honest, I'm leaning towards that idea myself, but we will just have to wait and see. And please, do not flatter me with your kind words. I am unworthy...sob sob...**

 **xDearestHeart2375x: Your reviews are all over the place, haha! But still, nice to know that you're enjoying my little story.**

 **Now with reviews aside, time to read!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Details. _Now_ ," Jin demanded.

"Yes sir," one of his subordinates said as they pulled out a scroll device. "Reports says that, in this particular area, a suspicious-looking individual has taken advantage of an innocent child. The individual's true motive is unknown, but we can safely assume that the innocent child is in terrible danger."

Jin scowled. "Anything else?"

"The individual was said to have an intimidating appearance, but unfortunately none of the reports bothered to add in a proper description on how this person looked like. Moving on, this person and the child were last seen entering a toy store," his subordinate added in. "That's all."

"No matter. Reports are unreliable to begin with. We can handle this ourselves," Jin said. He carefully examined his surroundings while briefly leaving his team members to their own devices, then shortly after he somehow managed to figure out where the location of that particular toy store was located. In fact, he was currently staring at the entrance right now, simply because that store in the distance was the only known toy store in the area. "Even a complete fool could do this." He swiftly drew his trusted blade and pointed it in the general direction of the store. "Men, I've found our target. Surround the entrance of that store, and apprehend anyone who comes out! That is a direct order from your superior. Now go!"

"Yes sir!" his team answered immediately.

Ten men including himself, professionals and armed to the teeth. Under his command at that.

What could go wrong?

 **-IIXII-**

"I don't do this often, but take good care of that little thing or else I'll get really mad. You know for a fact how truly broke I am."

Ruby, probably not even listening, kept waddling around him in circles as she held the small green teddy bear up above her head for everyone to see, and if the look on her face was anything, Terumi just easily assumed that it was just her being extremely happy and grateful. He felt like smiling, but he quickly resisted the urge as he had no intention of breaking his stoic mask so soon, especially when he was out here in public.

Just thank the heavens that the small thing was cheap. If not, then he probably would've ended up feeling like shit due to not being able to buy her anything, especially knowing the fact that she had just saved him from a lot of pain some moments ago.

Thinking about it now, the brat's little innocence and niceness has probably rubbed off on him a little bit, despite it being only a few days since he started working as her caretaker.

"Now stop waddling around me in circles. The least you could do is listen to me so that we can move on and-" Terumi was apparently interrupted when the sweet little bundle of energy suddenly jumped up and attached herself onto his left shoulder, riding him basically. "Wha…?"

Ruby looked to him and grinned. "Thanks for the present, Mister Terumi! I love it! Now, let's go!" She pointed towards the exit as her legs started moving back and forth, no doubt thanks to her unending energy, which was somewhat questionable in a way. Just how the hell could she stay this active all day?

"You don't have to tell me, y'know." Terumi rolled his eyes as he made his way over to the exit, bringing a hand up to his face in order to scratch his cheek so that he could avoid from looking at her. Some could say that he was embarrassed, as ridiculous as it sounded, but it was mostly true. Receiving thanks from someone who was definitely _not_ his younger brother wasn't really something that he was used to, though anyone could hardly blame him for that.

Being a total dick to others does that to people.

"I can't wait to show Mom!" Ruby exclaimed, who was practically shaking right now all thanks to that simple idea of hers. "She'll be so surprised!"

"Eh? Y-You shouldn't…" Terumi mumbled. He then pushed the door leading outside and calmly stepped out. "I mean-"

"Freeze!"

The sound of guns cocking as well as swords and blades brandishing assaulted his ears in that one small instant.

 _What the fu-_

"Yuuki Terumi. I should have known that it was you."

Wait. He knew that voice.

Aside from the other nine people who were currently eyeing his every move, the man who stood in the middle of them all was the one and only person who managed to gain his full attention.

And by heaven's name he didn't have time to deal with this bullshit.

"Jin Kisaragi. What a delight it is for me to run into you so suddenly, but unfortunately for you, I have some things to take care of so if you would please-" He attempted to casually walk forward, but had no other choice but to retreat when one of the assholes under the main asshole's command gave him a warning shot.

Which caused Ruby to yelp, undoubtedly due to fear. It was obvious that she had no idea what was happening, and neither did he.

"Yuuki Terumi," Jin began. "you are under arrest. Put that child on the ground and lower yourself so that-"

"Screw you," Terumi swiftly replied with an 'I don't give a shit' look. "Just get out of my way or else I'll have to deal with all of you myself. I'm currently working, so if you all could just run along and not cause trouble, then that would be nice."

Terumi noted that Jin was eyeing him in a somewhat confused manner when he said that he was currently on the job, but him being himself didn't bother to give out an extra explanation and just simply walked forward with the intention of joining up with his little brother and the other girls.

But it wasn't going to be that easy.

One of the men under Jin's command held up his gun, which basically had an attached silencer like the rest of his team members, and attempted to give him another warning shot, but a sudden kick to the face which ended up completely breaking the visor of his combat helmet was enough to prevent him from doing so. In fact, he was pretty much unconscious by the time he was on the ground.

"Out of the way!" Terumi roared. He had basically performed his attack so fast that even Ruby herself had to blink _thrice_ in order to fully comprehend what just happened, and the same applied to the other soldiers as well.

Jin widened his eyes in shock at the sudden turn of events before immediately deciding to give out his order. "Men, our target is on the move! Apprehend him at once and be sure to recover that child at all costs!"

"Why the rush? I'm not going anywhere," Terumi said in order to make things clear, in which he definitely did judging by how shaken some of the poor sods were. "Now let's see if you're all disappointing or not…"

"H-Huh!? B-But Mister Terumi, I'm still-" Ruby ended up screaming when her caretaker started rushing forward towards his next target with a silver knife pulled out from his sleeve. He broke his target's blade with just a single swing when the poor soul attempted to block, and then proceeded to knock him unconscious by slamming his head down onto the hard ground, and as for Ruby herself, she had to tightly hold onto his neck so that she wouldn't fall off by accident. Luckily she didn't, along with her new teddy bear. "Uwaah! Too quick!"

"Shit! S-Someone shoot him down!"

Jin heard this, and he wasn't pleased to say the least. "What!? No! The child is-"

One of the soldiers quickly took action and pulled out his sidearm. He then fired off a couple of shots, despite knowing that he could easily endanger the child's life if he wasn't being careful. Heck, he was leaning towards luck at this point.

Though that barely did anything.

Terumi simply deflected the rounds with his knife and coated his entire body with his intimidating aura, immediately summoning a large green serpent which he then used to surge forward in order to take down his next target, while fully knowing that he was taking little Ruby along with him as well. **"Messenga!"** he roared.

"Mister Terumi! Please stoooooop!" Ruby shouted as the wind kept assaulting her face nonstop, though when she finally managed to crack open one of her eyes, she was then immediately awed to see not one, but _two_ soldiers above her head whom appeared to have their respective combat gears completely damaged beyond total repair, right before they painfully landed on the ground somewhere behind her some seconds later. "W-Whoa…" was the last thing she found herself saying before she screamed, all thanks to Terumi jumping around in a wild manner so that he could proceed in beating the crap out of his next target.

Jin clicked his tongue as he glared at his remaining men one by one. "Cease fire! What are you, deaf? I said _cease fire_!" he shouted, though no one listened. Despite being professionals, the fear each of them felt deep inside was too great for them to handle.

And it wasn't like they were unaware of who they were dealing with to begin with.

Believe it or not, the soldiers had pretty much figured that they were doomed from the very moment they saw him calmly exiting the store.

Terumi evaded a shot from another soldier and quickly decided that he was next on the list, and so without further ado he swiftly knocked the bastard into the air with a sweet upper kick to the face which was then followed by another one, thus sending him flying into a nearby bench. Pain aside, at least he looked comfortable. Somewhat, of course.

Ruby was a bit light-headed at this point. "Uwaah…dizzy…"

Terumi spared his tiny little passenger a brief glance and smirked. "Just hold out for a little longer, squirt. How's the teddy bear?"

"O-Okay…" Ruby replied. "A-Are we almost done…?"

"Yep. In fact," Terumi brought his right hand into the air, then all of a sudden four dark portals of sorts came appearing right under his next set of targets. His targets then later found themselves getting launched high up into the air when countless of green serpents came assaulting them from below. Each of them landed in the distance soon after that, experiencing all sorts of hell by now most probably. "all that is left to deal with is the boss. So hang in there."

"I-I'll…hang in there, I guess," was Ruby's weak response, and Terumi could tell that she was nodding as a way of her telling him to continue. "But please hurry…"

Jin couldn't believe himself upon realising that his _entire team_ just somehow gotten themselves annihilated in just a couple of minutes, but despite that the anger he felt was not directed towards the cause of their defeat, but instead it was directed towards his team members themselves. Those fools.

"Now _this_ is the exact reason why I would prefer to work alone. Having men like these are useless in a battlefield," Jin complained, drawing his trusted blade as he did so. "It seems that I have to settle things myself, like usual. How convenient." Figuring that whining about his current problem right now was useless, Jin decided to forget about it for now and fully focus on the task at hand. He can complain all he desired once he returned to HQ, but for now, work was needed to be done. "Prepare yourself, scum."

Terumi grinned. "How scary. Now quit showing off your non-existent skills and- " He immediately jumped to the side when a small wave of ice went past him, and just by being so close he could feel how cold it was. If anything, Ruby's sudden shivering was proof enough, so thank goodness he evaded.

Catching a damn cold was not what he needed at the moment.

"Ah…" Ruby sounded.

"Eh?" Terumi turned his head to Ruby out of curiosity, and the next instant his face suddenly darkened ever so slightly. The cocky expression he had on display from before was long gone by now, much to Jin's confusion.

"What's wrong, was my attack that frightening?" Jin taunted, but all he received in return was silence. "Hmm?"

Then suddenly, Ruby started crying.

Jin narrowed his eyes. "What is-" Only then did he notice what appeared to be an arm belonging to a small green teddy bear lying on the ground somewhere behind Terumi, as small as it was. But that still didn't answer any of his questions. Though after having one quick glance at Terumi, Jin suddenly found himself frozen in place.

"You asshole…"

 **-IIXII-**

"Bwahaha! A-Are you girls serious!?" Ragna laughed. Damn. He was enjoying himself _way_ too much with this new-found information. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he couldn't help himself from hitting the table repeatedly, despite knowing that some of the patrons were now starting to leave because of him. "That jackass neighbour of mine, working as a caretaker! Oh man, this is gold! He must have gotten desperate! Haha! Oh shit, my rib…haha…"

This was just too much. The image of Terumi having to deal with actual shit and bratty kids inside his head just basically sucked every last amount of HP he had in him. The fact that he was still standing and not on the ground due to laughing so hard was a damn miracle.

"Oh man. A-And Blondie, so what you're trying to say, is that before you all came here you just literally sent him flying into a wall because he pissed you off?" When Ragna received a hesitant nod from Yang, he smiled, then grinned, before completely bursting out laughing. "Bwahahahaha! Damn! What a loser! And yet he had the balls to come here trying to start something with me!"

"U-Um…when will we be able to order?" Yang asked in an uneasy manner.

"H-Huh? Oh yeah, sorry about that." Ragna grinned and pulled out his notepad. He was still chuckling here and there of course, but currently for the most part he could now be considered calm enough to take their orders, thankfully. "I may have enjoyed myself a little too much back there," he said. "I sure as hell don't know a lot about you, Blondie, or any of you for that matter, but you should all be happy to know that you have earned my respect for giving my troublesome neighbour a tough time at work. Serves him right, that douche. In fact, keep at it!"

The three girls simply laughed uneasily in response.

"Now with that aside," Ragna cleared his throat. "what would you girls like to-"

 _Bam!_

Out of nowhere, a certain troublesome little brother whom Ragna was familiar with came bursting through the entrance, and he turned his head just in time to witness the poor asshat painfully slamming himself into the counter.

"Jin!?" he called out, surprised.

Though not long after that occurred, another troublesome asshole he knew who went by the name of Yuuki Terumi came storming through the entrance and menacingly made his way over to the downed Jin. And not just that, but in order to make sure that Jin wasn't going to recover and go anywhere else other than the counter, he started attacking him from the distance by commanding countless of energy serpents to slam themselves into him. None of them missed.

"Gah!" Jin cried out, pained. He attempted to reach for Yukianesa in order to figure out a way to defend himself, but one of the serpents made it futile as it slammed into his hand so hard that one of his fingers broke. A painful scream escaped his lips after that.

Terumi, now only inches away, went down and straddled Jin as he began to assault his face with punches nonstop. "Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you _fuck you_! Do you even know what you've done!? Huh!? I bought that with the last of my money! You fuck!" he screamed in just pure rage. "And all because of what, you were trying to arrest me? You fucking know for a fact that they will just release me in the end because the _higher-ups_ are too fucking _terrified_ to have anything to do with me! Hell, they won't even try anything if they find out that I've just assaulted a bunch of their useless pawns! So what you're trying to achieve here is basically useless!"

Jin coughed and wheezed, but even then he still had the energy to shoot a glare at his attacker's face, albeit weakly. "That won't…stop me…c-criminal scum."

" _What_? Say that again to my fist you-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hey, knock it off you two!" Ragna shouted as he decided to join in before anything else starts happening. He literally wrapped his arms around Terumi's waist from behind and started dragging him away from Jin, but that wasn't an easy task when his neighbour started fighting back by shaking around uncontrollably. "Terumi! Stop what you're doing!"

"Let go of me, Ragna! I ain't done with this jackass just yet! You can have your turn later for all I care! Now _let go_!"

"Terumi! For the love of Hades, you're scaring everyone including the kids who you're supposed to watch over!" Ragna practically shouted into the man's ear. Any previous thoughts which involved ridiculing him for working as a caretaker were now down the drain at this point. What was currently happening right now was no laughing matter. "Just look at them! Their faces are as white as sheets! Now calm the hell down, you idiot!"

 **-IIXII-**

Despite the words that were being shouted into his ear by Ragna, Terumi still found himself struggling due to his short temper. If anything, he knew quite well that Ragna considered himself lucky that his rage was not directed at him, but instead at his shitty younger brother. The man knew what he was capable of when fully provoked at the wrong time…

"You think I give a shit, Raggy Boy!? Discipline this worthless brother of yours for once! Hell, get him a leash while you're at it!" He noted Jin painfully attempting to sit himself up, and so acting quickly Terumi sent out his foot and slammed it into the bastard's face, thus knocking him back down. "Don't you even dare try getting up, you pile of shit!" he bellowed.

"Terumi, please! Just cut it out!" Ragna yelled.

He growled. "Ain't happening!" Though just as he said that, he soon felt something tugging at his right sleeve, and him being an angry son of a bitch, he turned to face the nuisance and shouted, "And what do _you_ want!?"

It took him roughly two seconds to realise that it was Ruby, who appeared to be holding back her tears as she held out her new green teddy bear towards him, which of course, was missing one of its arms.

Ragna turned his head to the child, and his face was immediately swallowed up in horror upon realising the danger she was in. "Kid! Stay back!" Though he was so terrified, he failed to notice that Terumi was no longer tense and struggling in order to free himself. "Hey, I said-"

"I…I couldn't find it," she suddenly said, sniffling later on. "C-Can you help me…?"

Not fully expecting that, Ragna cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Eh…?"

Terumi stared at the crying child for a short while, as all the anger and rage he felt from before began to leave his system. Then later, he nodded. "Follow me outside and let's search it together." Terumi then easily freed himself from Ragna's hold and stood up, much to the white-haired man's surprise, but not before shooting one last intense glare in Jin's direction. "Don't think I'll ever forget about this." So with that said, he took Ruby by the hand and headed towards the exit.

Jin didn't bother to try coming up with an insult, because he knew if he even dared to open his mouth, he might have to deal with Terumi shoving a shoe down his throat, and that did _not_ sound too good for him. So in the end he chose wisely and remained silent.

"I-I just hope it's still there," Ruby murmured.

Terumi glanced down at the silently crying Ruby, then calmly replied, "I'm sure no one took it. Now, come on. I have no intention of staying in the same building with that pathetic asshat over there."

Though just before he stepped out of the building, Terumi turned his head to the other three girls whom were silently watching him from their table. Ignoring the fact that they had just flinched under his gaze, Terumi nodded towards the exit and announced, "We're leaving. Pack up."

The girls, not wanting to question anything due to the tense atmosphere as well as just witnessing him going berserk on another man, left their table and followed him outside without a word whatsoever. They still kept their distance, however, but not as much as they'd like as they didn't want him actually noticing.

"Ignore the bodies, by the way," Terumi said.

"Bodies? What bodies-" Yang immediately decided to shut herself up upon noticing the limp bodies here and there, her face going pale as it could possibly get. "W-What…happened out here?"

Weiss, somewhat horrified, found herself holding onto Yang's arm, and Blake was no different, surprisingly.

Yang narrowed her eyes. "W-Whoa hey, I'm not your personal-"

"Shut up. Just let us borrow your arms for a little bit," Blake and Weiss interrupted in unison.

Terumi scratched his head as he scanned the area for the teddy bear's missing arm, and later noted that Ruby was doing the same despite having her eyes filled with tears.

"It _has_ to be here somewhere…" he muttered.

"Um…" Weiss, feeling slightly curious, gathered the right amount of courage and asked, "W-What are you two looking for, exactly?"

Ruby turned to Weiss and showed her, along with the others, the new teddy bear she had gotten from Terumi. "We're looking for the arm of my teddy bear," she said.

Weiss blinked. "Oh."

Blake furrowed her brows as she eyed the toy, as a new question came barreling into her mind. "Where did you get that?"

Terumi froze.

Ruby smiled, albeit she was still somewhat crying.

"Mister Terumi bought it for me!" she answered.

 **-IIXII-**

Right now, Summer was undeniably pissed.

When she was on her way back from work, she had expected to be greeted by her daughter as well as the others, her employee included. Or at the very least see them fooling around in the living room having a ton of fun, or maybe even watching some kind of show on television together.

But what she did _not_ expect to see was the gigantic mess of a wall in _her_ living room! Heck, it appeared as if some sort of crazy gorilla had broken into her house and caused the damage with a gigantic mallet!

Though she knew better than that.

Oh she did.

"Terumi…" she muttered, her left eye twitching ever so slightly as a dark smile found its way up to her face.

She was _way_ too tired to deal with this, but that didn't mean that she won't give him a piece of her mind later on. Whenever _that_ would be.

As if on cue, the sound of the front door opening greeted her ears.

"We're back!"

 _Was that Ruby?_ Summer calmly made her way over to the door and as she thought, it was her daughter Ruby. Her cute little voice from earlier gave it away, obviously. She then took note of Yang, Weiss, and Blake as they entered her house one by one. She was actually expecting Terumi to be the last one to enter, since she _really_ needed to have a word with him about a certain something. However, seeing him nowhere in sight only confused her more than ever. "Well that's odd. Where's Mister Terumi?"

"He…left the moment we reached the door," Weiss answered, sounding uncertain.

Now Summer was curious, if the look on her face was anything to go by. "And why is that? Did something happen?"

Yang laughed nervously, for some reason. "He felt down because we weren't able to find the missing arm of Ruby's new teddy bear, so he just left without saying a word," she explained.

"Teddy bear?" Summer questioned. One quick look at her daughter was all it took for her to spot the little toy she was holding onto, and somehow the sight of it having its arm missing was quite sad in a way. "And where did you get that, sweetie?"

"Mister…Mister Terumi bought it for me as a gift with the last of his money," Ruby murmured as she hugged the toy to her chest as if it was something important to her, in which it clearly was judging by how emotional she was getting. "I helped him scare away his headache earlier today, that's why…" she quietly added.

"Oh dear, did he really do that?" Summer knelt down and gazed at her daughter, now feeling less and less angry when she nodded in confirmation. She suddenly found herself smiling when a thought came crossing her mind. _Oh my. Is he starting to warm up to my daughter? I'm actually hoping that's the case in this._ Summer giggled and patted Ruby on the head, and by doing so she gained her daughter's full attention. "Well how nice of him. Let's cheer him up the next time he comes by. What do you say, Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes widened, then she nodded once more.

Summer grinned. "That's my girl."

Though unbeknownst to her, the three girls purposely left out the fact that he had gotten himself into a fight with a bunch of soldiers earlier that day. Lord knows what her reaction might be. It was for the best, but the girls knew that she would somehow find out eventually. Tomorrow if they were lucky.

But the most funniest thing of all, was that no one actually noticed the fact that Kval never came back from his alone time. Hell, not even his own older brother noticed.

 **-IIXII-**

 **I'm guessing that you readers weren't expecting something like this to happen. If you've all been paying attention to this chapter as well as the previous ones, there are a lot of things that are needed to be uncovered. We'll get to that, I promise. But there's still a long way before we are able to.**

 **Also, angry Terumi is terrifying...**

 **Anyway, that's all I got for this chapter. Leave reviews if you enjoyed!**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	18. Misunderstandings And Dangerous Visitors

**Troublesome Brats is back with its twelfth chapter! Oh yeah!**

 **Oh what's that? I'm early, you say? Well who cares! Think of this as my gift to all you lovely readers out there, because y'know...I tend to be late and all. Haha...**

 **By the way, I've read some of the latest reviews I've had, and I ended up laughing so hard that I could've sworn I saw my life flashing before my eyes! Yeah, it was _that_ hilarious to me. Readers oh readers, I know I'm creative, but to tell you the truth, I'm not _that_ creative! Haha!**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310: Now I wonder where you were able to get such an idea...pfft...**

 **EpicLinkSam: Yeah, I kinda feel bad for him myself. But well, he deserved it anyway.**

 **SolarxBlack: Really? Well thanks a bunch! Your kind words really means a lot to me!**

 **SifTheGreat: Thank you, thank you. I try my best. And you are curious you say? Well that's a good sign, in my eyes, anyway. As for Terumi, this chapter will pretty much explain a bit of his background, but only a bit. We'll get to the rest later. And again, like always, thank you for reviewing. I appreciate it.**

 **xDearestHeart2375x: You, my friend, have been assaulting me with your heartwarming reviews nonstop. I appreciate it, but there is one thing that I would like to correct. In Special 004, the White Fang had actually been planning on ambushing Terumi, but after Adam received the news that someone went in and sabotaged the whole operation, he knew that it was Kazuma's doing. So Adam being Adam, he decided to hire an assassin in order to eliminate Kazuma. As for who our little assassin is, you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Now with reviews aside, let's read!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

The next day came, and as expected, the terrible feeling from the day before still lingered. And as less as it was now compared to yesterday, it still kind of bothered him.

Terumi sighed.

And the worst part was that it took him nearly the whole night to finally realise that his little brother was missing. The fact that his scroll somehow wasn't broken after he had been squeezing it tightly in his hands last night in order to give his youngest sibling a call was nothing short of a miracle, though thankfully all that panicking went away the moment he took note of the new unread message in his mailbox.

From Kval himself.

Turned out he had been so upset that he failed to notice the device vibrating inside his pocket.

Still, it was reassuring to know that he was safe. Dangerous scumbags were lurking everywhere these days, especially during the night…

"Well, at least he's at Summer's place…" he muttered to himself, actually sounding a bit relieved at the fact. "He's smart enough to know what he should do when I'm not around, so that's good."

Though that still didn't stop him from blaming himself for not noticing his brother's lack of presence the other night. Like in all seriousness, he was an older brother for fuck's sake! He should take note of these things sooner!

A fucking failure.

That's what he was.

And so still feeling like shit that's been on the ground and stepped on for decades, Terumi pushed himself off the couch and decided to get some fresh air into his system. Lord knows he needed those in order to calm himself down…

Terumi stepped out of his apartment without even bothering to bring along his signature cloak, though he can't say he was expecting to meet his neighbour so suddenly, whom appeared to be gazing up at the sky with a troubled expression.

"Rags? What are you doing up so early?" he called out, purely out of curiosity of course. He knew that the man wasn't a morning person, so seeing him up this early pretty much caught him off-guard.

Ragna jumped and turned to face him, seemingly surprised, if that look on his face was anything to go by. "Y-You! Damn, don't scare me like that! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

Terumi shot his neighbour a blank stare. "I wish."

Ragna glared. "Dick."

Then silence.

For about three seconds.

"Anyway, just wanted you to know that I'm not fired yet, surprisingly."

"Hmm?" Terumi shot his neighbour a puzzled look, before commenting, "Well that _does_ sound weird. Lucky to be you, I guess. That said, sorry for splattering shit all over your plate while you were working, Rags. I mean, sure I intended to give you trouble at first, but not _that_ much trouble." His expression turned sour. "That asshat Jin just suddenly decided to show himself, that's why."

Ragna spared him a brief glance. "Y'know, I won't ask what happened between you and my brother the day before, but you should be happy to know that Jin has his arm broken thanks to you. He'll be fine of course, but it'll take a bit of time from what I've heard. In fact, to my knowledge, he was so beat up that the guys at the NOL had to give him a vacation of sorts in order for him to fully recover. Jin wasn't too happy when he received the news, though. You know how he is."

Terumi scoffed at that. "Serves him right. He better pray that I won't run into him by accident, or else he's gonna have something else broken."

Ragna rolled his eyes. "Terumi, I know you're untouchable, but that doesn't mean that the NOL will tolerate your bullshit forever. Keep this up and they are bound to do something, eventually anyway."

Was Ragna worried?

The man wasn't showing it, but he knew that he wasn't hiding it either.

But still…

"Honestly speaking, I don't care what they do. In fact, I kind of doubt that. Before I came here years ago, this area was crawling all over with scumbags and whatnot, and who had to take action and make those peasants know their place? That's right, it's me. Those NOL bastards only started coming by when I was about done halfway with all the cleaning." Terumi scowled. "They never cared one bit when it came to this zone. Hell, White Fang activities were a common thing years ago, and to make matters worst the NOL were unable to do anything about it! How pathetic is that?"

Ragna found himself rolling his eyes the second time. "And yet you single-handedly took the organization down and scared most of them away by beating their leader with an inch of his life. I know, Terumi. I was there to witness the whole thing. Sheesh…"

Terumi sighed. "Look, what I'm trying to say here is that the NOL just simply doesn't care. I wouldn't be surprised if I were to find out that they were too busy with prioritizing money over the innocent lives of children who had to endure all the shit years back. I'll say, those assholes just wants to get their hands inside your shirt and squeeze your tits until they turn purple as payment for the sake of, 'maintaining peace', as they liked to call it. Heh, what bull." He scowled. "They basically _owe me_ for stomping on the White Fang, those nitwits!"

"Which is why they aren't touching you," Ragna pointed out. "Heck, you've been at war with the NOL yourself and they couldn't do shit after all the stunts you've pulled! You've basically showed them what you're capable of when fully provoked, _alone_ at that, so of course they decided to turn a blind eye when something has _you_ involved! And it's because _they're scared_." Ragna then folded his arms, as the look in his eyes sharpened. "But you forget one thing, Terumi. When we have ourselves backed up against the wall with absolutely no ways to overcome our fears, we tend to seek others in order for them to do it for us. Sooner or later the NOL are going to start making their move on you with the help of an outsider."

"Oh yeah?" Terumi turned and faced his neighbour, noting how serious he was. "If that happens, then I'll just face whatever those assholes has in store for me head-on. I ain't planning on running, mind you."

Ragna groaned. "Man, you never change, do you? Here I am, _worried_ that the NOL might catch you and whip your ass like there's no tomorrow, and you're just brushing it off like it's nothing. Heh…" He actually chuckled after that. "Just how weak do you think the NOL are?"

"Pretty weak." He shrugged. "Sure they were intimidating before, but _after_ personally dealing with them when they decided that I was a threat? I honestly can't even tell the difference between them and a child wielding a toy sword who's having a tantrum."

Ragna laughed a bit. "Wow. I've fought with those bastards myself in the past, and even I still find them to be intimidating. Makes you wonder what we would have ended up doing if we kept creating trouble instead of just deciding to live normal lives, doesn't it?"

Terumi chuckled. "Yeah. I'd have to agree with you on that."

Now that Ragna had brought it up, just what would he have ended up doing? It was honestly an interesting thing to think about actually.

"By the way," Ragna smirked. "a caretaker, huh? Never thought you had it in you."

"Before you say anything that would cost you an arm and a leg, _no_ , I was not desperate," he replied, and this time _he_ was the one rolling his eyes instead of his white-haired neighbour. "It was the first job that presented itself right after I got fired, so what do you expect?"

"True." Ragna nodded. "I guess this pretty much explains the reason why you wanted me to buy you all those snacks a few days back. Just when I was done fighting my way through a bunch of crazed morons and paying for the items, I was surprised to see you waiting at the entrance. That, and also when you suddenly came snatching all the items away without saying a word, including the ones that were mine. That kinda left me confused back then. I mean, not even a thank you? Harsh."

"I was in a rush," Terumi grumbled. "Can't blame me. And I'll pay you back once I have the money, like I said before."

"I'll wait," was Ragna's short reply.

"Brother! Teach me how to make scrambled eggs!" Saya suddenly called out from Ragna's apartment room.

"Oh shit, I almost forgot the main reason why I'm up early in the first place!" Ragna exclaimed. "Gotta hurry!"

"Teaching her how to cook, I assume?" he guessed.

Ragna nodded. "What else? I just hope the food would still be edible once we're done cooking…"

Terumi watched as his neighbour rushed his way over to the door leading towards his apartment, and when he was finally out of sight, he let out a small sigh and redirected his attention towards the sky, doing exactly what Ragna himself was doing before he had decided to come out.

All he had with him now were his thoughts, along with some silence.

Exactly what he needed.

"The NOL, huh?" he muttered. "What a bunch of pathetic wimps. Whatever. I can't be bothered enough to start thinking about this shit. Though with that being said," He turned and calmly made his way over to the stairs. "I better pay Summer a visit and see how Kazuma is doing. Hope he isn't causing her trouble."

Fortunately, not much happened while he was making his way over to Summer's house. Stares and glares coming from bystanders and pedestrians were some of the things that he had gotten used to dealing with, so they honestly didn't count.

Though just when he was about halfway from reaching his desired location, fate decided to be a douche and throw something at him. Like, literally.

Terumi, not really aware of the shit that he was going to deal with in the next few seconds, pulled out his scroll as well as his earphones from his pocket. He placed them into his ears each and opened up a song, though just when he was actually starting to enjoy himself, a hand belonging to some jackass came grabbing him by the shoulder from behind and roughly turned him around.

"Wha-"

Terumi staggered when a fist was thrown at his face, which was then followed by another one, this one aimed at his gut. He did what other men would do in his situation and coughed, before deciding to get a clear look at his attacker.

"Yo. Did you like your gift?"

Terumi shot the man a confused stare, as pained as he was, and it roughly took him about three seconds to finally remember who this person was.

If it weren't for the red cape he had attached on his back which appeared to have seen better days, then it probably would have taken him a full minute to actually remember.

"I remember you. You're that guy who tried to start something with my little brother a few days back…"

The man smirked. "Good to know that you still remember me. I just wanted to give back the present that you've given me, along with some other things." He brought his hands together and cracked his knuckles. "Hope you wouldn't mind me taking a bit of your time."

Oh he minded. A _lot_.

 _Damn. I thought for sure that he wouldn't recognize me when I had my cloak on,_ Terumi thought as he narrowed his eyes. _Well whatever. I just want to end this quick and see Kazuma._

"Hey. What's with the look?" the man taunted. "Too afraid to make your move? And here I thought-"

 **-IIXII-**

Jin started narrowing his eyes upon noticing the glances that the people around him kept shooting in his direction, and as subtle as they tried to be about it, it was painfully obvious. His blood was boiling at this point, though he couldn't really blame them as the reason why they were doing that was due to the stupid cast around his left arm.

Oh how he hated it.

This was _why_ he had always hated hospitals. They had a tendency to give him unnecessary burdens to carry around, like the cast on his arm for instance.

Were it not for his desire to fully recover himself so that he could start getting himself back to work like usual, then he probably would have torn the damn thing open and threw it away the moment he had exited the hospital.

"Tch! It seems that I have no other choice but to bear with it. For now, at least," he muttered. "How unfortunate."

Oh yes, indeed. How unfortunate it was.

And it was even more unfortunate when a man with a red cape suddenly came flying out of nowhere and slammed into him by accident.

"Guha!" Jin cried out, wide-eyed and pained.

 **-IIXII-**

Terumi gave out a small breath of air and planted his foot back down onto the ground where it rightfully belonged. Figuring that he didn't want anything to do with the asshole who had just attempted to beat him up due to petty reasons, he put on his earphones once more and continued his walk, not quite realising the fact that he had just taken care of two birds with one stone.

Not that it was important.

And so, he walked, enjoying the theme _Endless Despair II_ that some fan of his decided to compose and upload to the Internet a few years back. And he had to admit, it quickly turned out to be one of his favorites.

Hey, he was quite famous back then, so it wasn't anything surprising. The entire world practically knew his name by now, all thanks to the stunts he'd pulled against the NOL and such.

Well, almost the entire world, anyway. There were probably a handful of people out there who were unaware of who he was, which was in fact, _fine by him_.

Anyway, all those aside, Terumi was quite relieved when he found himself standing a few feet away from his destination. Summer's house was the same as it ever was, nothing changed, he noted. So after pulling off his earphones as well as keeping away his scroll, Terumi walked up to the front door and knocked.

To his surprise the door suddenly swung itself open in just a matter of seconds, and not long after that something, or rather _someone_ , came tackling him as hard as they could, but thanks to their small size they were unable to knock him down to the ground.

And this someone, was none other than Ruby Rose herself.

"Mister Terumi!" she exclaimed.

Terumi lowered his eyes down to the little child with limitless energy and patted her on the head, resisting the sudden urge to smile as he did so. "What's up, squirt? Where's my little brother?" he asked.

Ruby pulled herself away from him and shot him a wide grin. "First, I want to show you something!" she said, her voice dripping with pure excitement. Hell, she was practically shaking from what he could see.

Terumi raised an eyebrow as curiosity settled in, but when little Ruby suddenly pulled out the very same teddy bear which he'd bought for her from behind her back, his entire face was immediately swallowed up in shock.

Its arm wasn't missing anymore.

"H-How…?" Terumi found himself asking. Though without even bothering to get his answer from Ruby, he picked the little girl from the floor and raised her up high, much to her absolute delight of course. No longer was he fighting back his urge as he allowed a wide smile to display itself across his usually expressionless face. "It's not retarded anymore! Oh damn, I can't believe it! It's fixed! _Fixed_!"

No words were able to describe how happy and relieved he was to see his gift all repaired and fine compared to yesterday.

Indeed. He was happy.

But…

"Ahem," a familiar voice sounded from the doorway, gaining his attention.

Curious, Terumi lowered Ruby a bit and turned to the voice's owner, and what soon met his eyes was the sight of his little brother whom had his arms folded, along with an _extremely unhappy_ Summer Rose by his side.

His smile vanished in an instant.

If the look on Summer's face was anything, then all he could assume now was that he was in serious trouble.

"What?" he said.

Summer, with her silver orbs now emitting a faint glow, came marching her way over to where he was and grabbed him by the ear, forcefully dragging him inside.

And boy was it painful.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! W-What did I do!?" Terumi quickly dropped Ruby just as he was about to pass Kval, and just as he predicted, his little brother swiftly jumped forward without thinking and caught her in a bridal carry, thus causing him to blush upon realisisng the position they were in some moments later.

"Hi," Ruby said, grinning.

"H-Hey…" Kval responded, embarrassed.

After a while of being dragged here and there, Terumi found himself in the living room where Summer _finally_ decided to release his poor ear. The woman settled herself on the couch and nodded towards her table, and it didn't take long for him to spot the newspapers there.

All with _his face_ featured on the front pages of all things.

But was he surprised?

No, not really.

"Ah. So that's why you're pissed," he figured.

His boss just remained on the couch, giving him a pointed stare as well as nothing but cold silence.

Terumi scratched his head and looked away. He was _so_ regretting the fact that he left his cloak back in his apartment. Hiding his face would have been so much easier.

Just when he was about to give in to the silence that was presented to him by his pissed off boss, he flinched when she suddenly picked one specific newspaper and held it up for him to see.

And just his luck, the newspaper that she had in her hand had a picture of him and _Ruby clinging onto his back_ featured on the front page.

He started sweating a whole river soon after that.

"I-I…can explain."

"There is nothing to explain," she finally spoke, her voice as sharp as all the knives he usually carried around with him. "It was all over the news this morning, and luckily Kazuma was here to make it all easier for me to understand. He explained nearly _everything_ about you, so don't even bother."

Okay, so now he was confused. He could've sworn that she already knew by now.

"But I thought you knew," he said, while fully making sure that he sounded genuinely confused so that she'd knew just how truly confused he was. "You said that Kazuma had told you everything the first day we've met, didn't you? So something like my face popping up on the news shouldn't really surprise you."

Summer slammed her free hand onto the table, thus rendering him silent once more.

"All he told me was that you had a fight with your second brother regarding his job and that you were struggling in terms of finance! But _this_?" She nodded her head towards the newspaper she was still holding, before finally deciding to drop it back down onto the table. "No, he didn't, apparently. When we first met I thought you were just a regular guy who had to deal with financial problems, but I never expected to find out that you were actually…"

Silence.

"Actually?" Terumi repeated, encouraging for her to continue.

Summer said nothing in return, in fact she never did finish her sentence. All she did was bury her face into her hands and gave out a heavy sigh.

"Now I know what you meant when you said that I wasn't from around here while we were shopping for that turkey that day, and you're right," she muttered. "I've just moved here only recently, so I don't know much about what goes on in this area. I just…didn't expect you to have such a background when I decided to have you as my daughter's caretaker. _Did not_."

Judging by how upset she was, Terumi knew where this was heading. Damn, he knew it all too well apparently. She didn't need to say too much for him to understand what she wanted, because he could already tell.

Though can't say he was happy about this either.

 _Shit. Now this just goes to show that I shouldn't lose my temper in public. But well, have to admit that it was…nice, while it lasted I guess. Sort of. With how smooth things were going, I honestly didn't expect it to end so soon…_

Resigning to his fate, Terumi rubbed the back of his neck and released a sigh with his eyes glued down to the floor. Then after having some thoughts flying in his head for a while, he figured that she at least deserved a thank you for how nice she'd been treating him all this time when compared to his previous employers, as much as how uncomfortable he was with the idea and the fact that Summer hasn't even paid him yet for doing his damn job.

But he just felt like he needed to.

Scratch that, he _wanted_ to.

For putting up with his shitty attitude and whatnot, he basically _owed_ her one.

And so he did.

 **-IIXII-**

"Thanks."

Summer blinked.

To be honest, she wasn't quite expecting her employee to thank her of all things after telling him how upset she was, so this really left her feeling surprised as well as confused at the same time.

Yet as much as she'd like to question him about this, she wasn't able to find the chance to when he decided to continue.

"For everything. I know I'm bad at this, and you don't need to tell me, but I just want you to know that you've been the nicest employer I've had so far. Believe it or not, I'm grateful for that."

If she was extremely upset before, then she sure as hell wasn't now due to feeling even more confused, and nothing else. Just where was this all coming from exactly? Yeah she knew she was upset, but she didn't expect to get this sort of reaction out of him.

If anything, she kind of felt like _she_ was the villain now, as silly as it sounded.

"I-I don't understand. What are you going on about, Terumi?" Summer watched as he shot her a brief glance, and that look she saw being displayed in his eyes was enough to get herself worried. She didn't have proof, sure, but she had a feeling that he was misunderstanding something here.

The only problem that kept her from getting the full picture was Terumi, to be more precise his thoughts. If she could just get more clues regarding what was going on inside his head right now then she would probably be able to piece things a whole lot easier.

And how fortunate she was, because the next thing that came out of his mouth a few seconds later pretty much killed off all of her questions in one go.

"Finding another job, what else? What, did you expect me to laze around in my apartment after immediately getting myself fired?" Terumi scowled. "Screw that. I got a younger brother to feed."

So with that said and now out in the open, all the dots were finally connected.

 _Oh. Oh!_

Summer immediately rose up from her couch with her silver eyes widened the same size as dinner plates. She then quickly threw a hand out towards her employee so that he wouldn't leave, in which she succeeded in doing so, thankfully.

"W-Wait!" she called out. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think that way, Terumi. J-Just…please, sit down. Sit down and let's talk about this." She noted him shooting her a confused stare, and in response she rolled her eyes at how slow and stupid he was being. Pardon her for thinking that. "I wasn't planning on firing you, silly. I…I may be upset, but firing you was never my intention. I swear!"

Silence.

"Eh?"

As serious as she was before, Summer couldn't really help herself from giggling too much upon getting a clear look at the funny expression he had on his face. And just before he slammed his face into his hand, she could have sworn that he was blushing a bright red.

"You should have told me that sooner, you damn woman!" Terumi yelled out at the top of his lungs, but Summer knew that he was just actually embarrassed rather than being angry. "Saying all those things about how grateful I am to you nearly made me shit my pants, just so you'd know! I was on the verge of vomiting, damn it!"

And at that, Summer came bursting out laughing.

Was he actually serious?

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" Terumi, despite sounding angry, knew that she knew his face was the same color as a fresh tomato, as much as he tried to hide it with only one hand. So saying that he was embarrassed was truly an understatement. "The nerve…"

"Haha! I-I…I'm sorry." Summer slowly wiped away a tear from her left eye, a big smile on her face. "It's just, I never knew you were the type who would get embarrassed quite easily," she said.

"I-I am _not_!" he quickly denied.

"Yes you are," she teased.

Terumi just clicked his tongue and grumbled, which soon earned him another set of laughter from Summer, much to his displeasure of course. Well, at least he wasn't blushing anymore.

"S-Sorry, sorry. That was my bad." Summer cleared her throat once she was done laughing, though her smile still remained, before patting the couch. "Now please, sit down."

He took his time, but eventually Terumi did what he was told, and she knew he was still embarrassed judging by how awkward he was being. Really, his face just gave it away. It kind of made her wonder just how much she'd missed thanks to that yellow cloak of his…

"Are you…sure you're not planning on firing me?" was the first question that came out of her employee's mouth, and Summer couldn't really blame him for being extra curious on the matter. Lord knows just how many times he had to endure the pain of getting himself fired from multiple jobs in the past.

So figuring that she should ease his worries for a bit, if not for his own sake, Summer turned to face him and shook her head. "No, I'm not. So don't let it bother you no more, you hear?" she said in a gentle manner.

"W-Who said I was worried…?" he grumbled.

Summer giggled. "No one, but you yourself looked worried." She saw him flinch right beside her, and she couldn't help herself from giggling some more at how silly he was. Though soon after she was done, Summer guessed that it was about time they started discussing about the more serious matter at hand. And so she did.

And she wanted to start by knowing the reason why he decided to lay low after years of picking fights with the NOL of all things, along with another certain organization she knew…

"Terumi, would you mind telling me the reason why you stopped?"

"Stopped? Stopped what?"

She nodded her head towards the newspapers, and he understood immediately.

"Oh. That. Well…I guess you could say that I stopped causing trouble because I started realising the fact that I had a younger brother to look after. That's…about it, actually."

Summer nodded. "If you stopped, then why did you decided to pick a fight with a bunch of NOL officers the day before?"

"I don't know," he grumbled. "I even told them that I was busy, but still they insisted on starting something with me. It was all self-defense, mind you, and the only reason why I went berserk on that last guy was because he damaged the gift I bought for your kid."

"Oh." Summer blinked. "Well that explains everything."

Terumi shot her a pointed stare. "You assumed I was the one who started the whole thing, didn't you?"

Summer just laughed sheepishly in response to that. "Sorry, but at least I know better now. And I know this is weird coming from me, but I just wanted to be sure. Is it true that you handled the White Fang organization yourself? Kazuma was the one who told me that, though he didn't say why, however."

"I did, but I don't want to get into detail as to why I did it."

"Hm?" Summer, surprised as she was to discover that it was actually true, was somewhat curious as to why he wanted to avoid the subject. "Why is that?"

Terumi went quiet as he stared at the newspapers on the table. But after a while, he finally answered, though he appeared hesitant at first.

"Just…personal reasons. Actually, the same applies to why I even started causing trouble with the NOL in the first place. So, as curious as you are, I…don't really want to talk about it, if that's fine with you."

"I see." Summer paused, before sighing. "That's fine. For now, I'll just stop breathing down your neck for your sake. But don't think that I won't start questioning you regarding other things later on, you hear?"

"Loud and clear. And thanks…"

"Anyway, speaking of thanks, you should thank Kazuma later on." Summer turned to her employee and smiled at him. "He came here yesterday with the teddy bear's missing arm. He found it by accident, apparently, and knowing you he just decided to keep it with him."

"Oh that little shit…" Terumi grinned, and just by looking at his eyes Summer could tell just how grateful he was. "Yeah, he knows me a bit _too_ much, judging by his instincts telling him to keep that bear's missing arm with him. Heh. Yeah, I'll be sure to thank him later."

"Right. Just don't forget," Summer teased. "Oh yeah, and thanks for buying my daughter that cute little gift, Terumi. It seems that she has taken quite a liking to it, just so you'd know. She just practically couldn't stay still when I told her that I was able to fix it. The sight was so adorable! You should have seen the look on her face!"

"E-Eh? Oh. Well. Don't…don't mention it…I guess…" mumbled Terumi.

 **-IIXII-**

That was tense. Even he had to admit that.

It was a miracle that no tables came flying into the air by the time they were done.

"What are they talking about in the living room?" Ruby asked.

Kval smiled. "It's safe to assume that they're bonding right now, I guess. But that aside…" He looked to Ruby, whom apparently was _still_ in his arms for the past few minutes, oddly enough. As cute as the sight was, Kval could basically hear his arms screaming at him for all the torture that he was putting them through. "…will you get off now? My arms are starting to hurt, you know."

"Oh. Okay then." Ruby did just that and got herself off of him in just a couple of seconds, but not a while later Kval was surprised when she suddenly rushed behind him and latched onto his back before he could even react. "Piggyback!" she exclaimed.

"W-Why…?"

"Because I like being carried around," was her innocent answer, and he had no other choice but to give in due to her absolute cuteness. And hey, at least his arms weren't hurting anymore, so that's that.

Kval sighed, then later converted his temporary frown into a small smile. "Alright, where do you want to go, Miss Rose?"

Ruby giggled with a wide grin. Clearly she was enjoying herself. "I want-"

A handful of knocks which came originating from the door interrupted Ruby, and she just looked to Kval and the two ended up exchanging confused looks soon afterwards. Though that didn't exactly stop her from continuing with her fun, if the happy grin that came conquering her face two seconds later was anything to go by.

"Let's go greet our visitor!" she ordered.

Kval just nodded and smiled. "Right away, Miss Rose."

Ruby found herself giggling once more. "You make me sound like I'm a princess, Kazuma."

Kval only chuckled in response. Yeah. He knew better than to say anything, lest he'd end up getting flustered by his own mistakes.

He calmly made his way over to the door, not minding the fact that his little passenger was unable to keep herself still for even a second, and when he did reach the door, Kval just simply requested for Ruby to turn the knob for him. Just as she was done with his request, he wasted no time in just kicking it open, though he made sure to not put in more force than necessary.

Breaking a door was the last thing he needed right now.

"Hi, what can I help you with-"

The sound of a sidearm cocking assaulted his ears, and Kval went pale in an instant.

When his eyes got a clear look at their little 'visitor', the first thing that came into his mind was one particular ice cream, but when he took note of that psychotic grin, all he felt was fear.

And that was probably the last thing he felt.

 _Bang!_

 **-IIXII-**

 **xDearestHeart2375x, I'm pretty sure that you can guess the identity of our little assassin by now. It's pretty obvious.**

 **By the way, I just wanted to let you all know that Terumi is not the only one with a tragic past here. But right now let's talk about him. I've been laying out hints all over the place, like for instance the one from _way_ back in the first chapter, _Struggles And Whatnot_. Who was Terumi talking to on the phone? And also there were those rumors regarding him and his actions in the past. Then there's this chapter and the previous one. Personal reasons from Terumi means big business, I'll say that immediately. I was kinda weirded out when almost no one pointed some of those out.**

 **Then there's Summer. Ever wondered why she was even injured inside her messy kitchen back in _Meeting New People And Unexpected Offers_? And don't even get me started on Velvet's mysterious relationship with Kazuma.**

 **And then Adachi. Adachi anyone? Who was he talking to right after Kazuma left the** **café** **during _Rainy Days And Annoying Detectives_? The answer is quite obvious.**

 **Yeah, I just wanted to get that all out for some reason. By the way, don't mind my ramblings and lunacy. I'm probably just tired and haven't been eating and drinking too well, but that's just the life of a writer, I guess.**

 **Don't know if I can get another chapter out in the next few days, but a special? I think I can manage. But even so, I apologise if I suddenly start slacking again. It's a bad habit of mine, apparently.**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	19. Special 007

**Oh screw my vacation! Go have a special, my fellow readers!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

If by some chance that a stranger would come up to him and say that he was indestructible when it came down to taking shit from others, then Terumi would waste no time in denying that statement. In fact, he would immediately make things clear by saying how _flat-out wrong_ they were.

Terumi never showed it, and heck he had _no intention_ of showing it, but he has his limits. Believe it or not, he wasn't far too different from others.

The knowledge of people talking behind his back and such, especially on the Internet, rarely ever get to him, and it is even safe to say that he didn't give two shits about what they thought of him, but even for someone as intimidating and sadistic as he was, his walls weren't exactly invulnerable.

Sounded ridiculous, but it was unfortunately true.

Sometimes on rare occasions he would just sit still on the couch in his apartment, alone with nothing but his thoughts. He would often give out a few errands for his little brother to do in order to be alone, and as much as he tried to hide it, Terumi knew that he knew. And every time he would send him out, Kval would just nod and did as he was told without question. He appreciated it, really.

And if he was lucky, the feeling would sometimes last for only a day, a few hours even. But if he wasn't, then expect a few days or maybe even a full week.

Sometimes it bothered him so much that he couldn't get himself to sleep at night.

But despite how terrible it was, he would always somehow manage to forcefully push through and get himself back up on his feet. Every single time.

Using force was the only solution back then. He tried other things too, and he did, but ultimately force was the only thing that gave him positive results. Anything else besides that would sometimes work too, but not as much as he wanted.

So that's how it came to pass. If he were to ever feel down in the dumps, then forcing through was automatically the only solution.

Now though, things were pretty much different. _So_ different.

 _She_ would notice if something was up, no matter how hard he tried hiding it, and she would always end up killing his problem in just a matter of minutes, something that even he couldn't accomplish fast enough. And even if he tried to handle it himself occasionally, she would just always come popping out from nowhere and did her thing.

He would sometimes make it look like that he didn't want her help by giving her the cold shoulder, but deep down he knew he needed it, and he had a sinking suspicion that she knew that as well. So even if he did act cold towards her, she would just always end up doing her thing anyway. And as to why she kept quiet about it was beyond him.

"Terumi?" her gentle voice called out.

He didn't bother answering from his spot on the couch, and she immediately knew why, of course. Without even needing to grow an extra pair of eyes on the back of his head, Terumi could tell that she had that strange little smile on her face. Like always.

Terumi just kept his eyes focused on Ruby, who was currently fast asleep on his lap, as a way of him telling her to leave him be.

She knew better, of course. She always did.

Her light footsteps greeted his ears as she slowly made her way over to him. When she was finally standing right behind him, Summer bent down and wrapped her arms around his neck, before taking a quick peek at his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

No response. He then simply turned away from her, not that she could see much of his face to begin with thanks to his yellow cloak, but even then something told him that her smile was growing.

"Do you _not_ want my company?" she asked.

The same as before, Terumi gave out no response. Because he didn't need to.

"I see. I will leave you alone then." Summer pulled herself away and stepped back, but her smile still remained in place despite her actions. She turned and was planning on leaving, but as she predicted, Terumi grabbed onto a small piece of her signature white cloak and prevented her from moving elsewhere. And so she giggled. "So, should I take that as a yes?"

Terumi was reluctant, but in the end he answered by nodding his head once.

"Oh you."

 **-IIXII-**

Summer has always been viewed by others as someone who was optimistic, brave, smart, courageous, and just downright stubborn. Let's not even deny that last part. It was no lie, of course. Summer was basically all of those things in one package.

Though despite all the good that she had in her, not a lot of people were aware of her one true weakness. That's right. She, the smart reliable and courageous Summer Rose, actually has a weakness.

And maybe that didn't sound too surprising, but if she were to ever tell anyone about this weakness of hers, then rest assured that they would just laugh and chuckle before brushing it aside as if it was nothing but her attempt at a joke.

And as for those who were curious on the subject of Summer's crippling and supposedly horrifying weakness, then putting it simply, it was none other than the fear of disappointing her sweet little daughter.

So when she'd forgotten to buy that strawberry soda her daughter loved so much while she was on her way back from work, it was no surprise that she later found herself dealing with nothing else but guilt and sadness all alone on the couch after having to witness Ruby locking herself up inside her room due to being extremely upset at her. And normally Ruby wouldn't be upset to the point of isolating herself, but Summer had made her a promise, and yet she broke it as if that promise was never made in the first place, so she couldn't exactly blame her for what she was doing.

All Summer could do now was hope that Ruby would find it in herself to forgive her later on, and she knew that she would eventually. The problem being was that when something like this occurred in the past, the process of the two reconciling with one another would often swallow up an entire day in order for them to actually fully fix their relationship, and on some rare occasions a couple of days even.

So with nothing to do other than just wait, Summer pulled her knees close to her chest and remained where she was on the couch, as more and more worrying thoughts came piling up inside her head with no signs of stopping. If anything, the cold silence probably made it worse for her. It was suffocating and-

"Is it just me," his somewhat annoyed voice started. "or is the air inside this house actually feels heavier than usual?"

What a surprise. After all that yelling she received from Ruby, it was hard for Summer to remember the fact that Terumi had been inside her house for the past few hours. Before this, he was busy sleeping in the guest room, if she recalled correctly, though not like that little piece of information was important to begin with. She still had a problem to deal with-

"Another fight, huh?"

She flinched.

"You two are a real piece of work when you're up against each other's throats, y'know that?" he commented.

Summer could actually feel him closing in on her from behind, and just as she braced herself for the little smack that he always gave her every time a fight broke loose between her and Ruby, she was somewhat surprised when all he did was set his palm down onto the top of her head. He then proceeded with giving her head a gentle shake not long after that, and the urge to pout at the fact that he was treating her like a child was too much for her to resist.

"Right. I'll call her down, then you handle things from there, you hear?" Summer wasn't able to see it, but she could tell that he was rolling his eyes. "Next time, try to say something before she runs off to her room. Leaving her all alone like that will only end up giving you two even more problems to deal with, and I ain't up for that shit."

She just kept herself quiet as he talked, but she knew that he knew she was actually listening to every word he said. She appreciated it, really. No matter how hard he tried to make it appear as if he was all annoyed, she knew that he was actually worried and wanted to help her out.

It's been like this ever since then, in fact.

If a fight were to ever break loose between herself and Ruby, then Terumi would step in and pick up the pieces. Every single time. He had no obligation to make things better, but she could tell he hated seeing them getting all upset just because of something so trivial.

Indeed, she was grateful.

He acted as if he didn't care, but Summer knew that somewhere deep down he did. He just had no intention of showing it.

"Now you better prepare an apology, Summer. I don't want to end up dragging your kid down here all so that she can see you stutter and making a fool of yourself." He pulled his hand back to his side before making his way over to the stairs. "You're her mother, and you love her, don't you? Then it's your job to tell her how sorry you are. I honestly don't see why she won't forgive you if you apologise, so do me a small favor and kill that frown of yours. It's rather annoying."

Summer smiled.

Indeed, she was grateful.

 **-IIXII-**


	20. Killing Intentions And Interruptions

**Welcome to the thirteenth chapter of Troublesome Brats!**

 **I meant to get to this sooner, but this chapter proved to be quite difficult for me. Curse you, Writer's Block! For assaulting me so suddenly! I honestly don't think this turned out too well, so just listen to music to make the experience better, I guess.**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **xDearestHeart2375x: Well thanks, and the main reason as to why I've updated like a madman was because of you. Your reviews really helped. A lot. And I mean a _whole lot_! And yeah, I think in the wiki somewhere I've read that Saya is, like Noel, terrible when it comes to cooking. As for the roles of our favorite green-haired characters, I honestly didn't notice that! Though can't say for certain that Hazama is going to be the villain in this. Maybe just a little bit, in terms of being annoying and such.**

 **SolarxBlack: It is? Well no more!**

 **SifTheGreat: Glad you enjoyed them! And yeah, even I could relate. Poor Terumi. Also, I myself quite enjoyed writing that moment between Ragna and Terumi. Those two really need to get along more!**

 **Neramo: Why thank you! And I agree, Litchi should be the doctor, but as for Azrael, I already have a role for him. Sorta. Though I do think that the local gym owner role is more suited for someone like Bang. Your thoughts?**

 **EpicLinkSam: You're right. For now, I'll just leave him behind the curtains. For reasons.**

 **Now that reviews are out of the way, it's time to read!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

She wondered why Adam wanted this child dead. It was an interesting thing to think about actually. The photo they gave her to work with only showed nothing but an innocent-looking child, and believe it or not, she almost found herself rejecting the whole deal. Good thing she didn't, because the amount of cash he offered if she was able to get it done was too hard for her to resist. And hey, if he wanted her to just do her job without question in exchange for tons of cash, then she was all up for it.

But now she understood everything.

This _child_ was not what he appeared to be, and she blamed herself for not noticing it sooner. If Adam Taurus, _leader_ of the White Fang, of all people wanted this child to be dealt with, then there must mean that there's something to it.

So when she pulled the trigger of her sidearm, her psychotic grin faltered ever so slightly when her target reacted quickly by throwing the girl who was on him off to the side while he himself attempted to evade the shot. He wasn't fast enough, of course. His left arm took the blow, and despite the damage she did, she didn't want that.

What she actually wanted was for the bullet to go through his head, all so she could quickly wrap things up and go back to Taurus in order to claim her reward. She simply didn't expect him to move so quickly.

Neo was impressed by his quick reflexes. Truly she did. It's a wonder why the White Fang had trouble when dealing with him. To be honest, she was curious regarding his combat capabilities, but unfortunately she had no time to fool around with her prey.

Taurus had specifically told her to end things quickly, and so with that little reminder stuck in her head, Neo aimed her sidearm at the child who was clutching at his injured arm, and thanks to the sight of him bleeding, her psychotic grin was back to its former glory.

 _Let's settle this,_ she thought.

Neo pulled the trigger.

And that's when things went wrong.

 _So_ horribly wrong.

A silver knife came flying from out of the doorway and knocked her sidearm away from her grasp, and Neo then found herself stunned as she stared shockingly at her hand. Just where did it come from?

She turned her head to the doorway, but before she could register anything new with her mismatched eyes, she was forcefully knocked to the ground by a dark green creature of sorts with menacing eyes, before feeling a couple of hands around her throat. Neo shot her attacker's face with the sharpest glare she could muster in an attempt to scare them off so that she could kill them along with her target, but that ended up being a mistake. A _huge_ mistake.

Her face paled instantly.

 _I-Isn't this…Yuuki Terumi!? The untouchable asshole!?_ Neo screamed internally, shocked beyond measure. And not long after the shocking reveal, she finally managed to see the full picture. _The actual reason why Taurus offered me so much money…was all simply because my target was the actual younger brother of Yuuki Terumi!? T-That bull bastard didn't even say anything about this! All he said-_

"I'm going to squeeze the life out of you."

When Neo felt the hands around her throat beginning to tighten themselves, that's when she officially panicked.

"Terrified? Then _deal with it_." His voice was so cold, that it sent shivers and maybe even the winter season itself down her spine.

Now Neo rarely ever found herself scared by anything, and usually it was the other way around when it came to dealing with her victims and other unfortunate individuals, but just by having one quick glance at her attacker's face alone was enough to make her nearly wet herself, though she successfully resisted the urge as hard as it was.

His face didn't reveal too much in terms of hostility and desire to kill, but the main cause of her concern and fear was the fact that his serpentine eyes were filled with so much hatred and killing intention that she found herself panicking all the more. In fact, she could tell that he was planning on giving her a slow and painful death, if the look in his eyes was anything to go by.

And with her weapon way out of reach, there was nothing she could do.

But good thing she carried spares.

 **-IIXII-**

This bitch.

The nerve.

She _dared_ mess with his brother, and let alone shoot a bullet through his arm with that sickening grin from before?

His blood was boiling. He hadn't felt like this in ages, and just by remembering the last time it happened in the past, it made his desire to kill this little runt all the more harder to suppress.

"Scream for me."

As soon as those words left his lips, Terumi began strangling the little runt, and he won't stop until she had her neck broken. That said, he'll be sure to take this nice and _slow_ to make the experience all the more enjoyable. Being killed by him was a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all, so she better savor the feeling while she still has the chance to.

Just as he began assuming that she was utterly defenseless, he didn't expect her to suddenly pull out another sidearm from her back. She then shoved the silencer the gun had attached right against his gut.

Terumi widened his eyes in shock. "Wha-"

She quickly squeezed the trigger. Three to five shots.

A pause.

Terumi allowed a large sickening grin to completely take over his face as blood began dripping down his chin, and just by looking at the runt's expression he could tell she realised that all she did was piss him off rather than getting him off of her.

"That ain't gonna work, you bitch." Just as she seemed as if she was about to squeeze the trigger of her sidearm once more, Terumi quickly grabbed her wrist and squeezed it so hard that she just had to let go due to pain and nothing else. But to his annoyance her other hand came pulling out a combat knife from her back, and she wasted no time in sticking it into his side in order for her to regain back her freedom.

But Terumi could tell that she was terrified, and utterly desperate at this point.

The knife pained him, of course, but he ignored it. He simply pulled the knife out before sticking it into the ground, just centimeters away from the midget's head.

"Tch. Nice trick, but rest assured that it ain't working." Terumi immediately went back to strangling her, and it appeared that she had nothing left to defend herself with judging by the look in her eyes. "Hehe. How does it feel, to think that you were able to get away with killing my brother? And don't worry, 'cause once I'm done with you…" His sickening grin grew. "…I'll be sure to kill the asshole who hired you by hitting them with your corpse repeatedly. Then maybe I'll feed your corpse to the Grimm after I'm done."

Terumi heard voices coming from behind him, and he didn't need to think too hard to figure out that it was just Summer along with the others. If anything, she was probably just looking after his brother and her own daughter.

Though right now none of that mattered to him.

The bitch under him began to claw at his hands as a desperate attempt to free herself, so in return Terumi added in more pressure to her throat as the grin on his face grew more twisted and sickening.

With how things were looking, Terumi honestly couldn't tell whether his sanity was still intact or not at this point, but honestly speaking it was safe to assume that it wasn't.

"What's wrong? Hey, what's wrong? Can't you take it? Are you a dumbass? Hey, answer me." He brought the little bitch up by the throat and slammed her back down as he spoke, or rather taunted her with a series of pointless questions. He proceeded to slam her onto the ground again a few more times, and yet he still wasn't satisfied. That terrified expression she was giving him just wasn't enough. "Weren't you going to kill my brother? Hey, talk to me. Why are you being so quiet? Gehehehe…" His eyes widened, and his twisted grin soon followed, but it faltered a bit when he noticed that her eyes were beginning to roll up to the back of her head. He scowled. "Hey. Hey hey hey, don't sleep on me now. Keep those eyes open. I still have tons of things in store for you, so let's keep playing until one of us ends up dead…"

She twitched.

Was she foaming, _and_ crying? Oh you gotta be kidding…

Talk about shitty tolerance.

Like a young woman who had gotten herself possessed by some demon of sorts, the runt started clawing his hands much harder as her legs began kicking in all directions, no doubt due to the lack of oxygen entering her lungs. She twitched every now and then while she struggled, and every time she did it appeared that it was a sign of her strength fading away. Bit by bit, it seemed.

 _Fuck it…_

Figuring that torturing her was no longer fun, Terumi just shot the midget one last glare and muttered, "Say hi to my friend for me…" Just as he was about to snap her neck and toss her corpse over to the middle of the road in hopes of getting a vehicle to splatter her guts in all directions, Summer suddenly came in from behind and knocked him off of her. "Gah!"

"Terumi! Just what in the world are you doing to her!?" she screamed.

 **-IIXII-**

Summer had seen a lot of things during her time working as a Huntress, and not all of them were pretty.

She'd seen how things like war and death could easily change someone. She'd seen what the dark creatures of Grimm were able to accomplish when they weren't being properly handled. She'd seen and fought against dangerous criminals before in the past, and during those times Death had been itching to take her soul away, and to say that she was still well and breathing now was nothing short of a miracle.

But that look he was shooting in her direction…

 _That_ , was something else entirely. It's almost as if he wasn't himself anymore.

"T-Terumi?" she called out, her voice filled to the brim with concern as she stared at him. "Y-You've done enough, so let's hand her over to the authorities! And get you to a hospital after!"

"Summer."

Summer flinched at the tone in his voice.

" _Get the fuck out of my way_."

She watched as the man stumbled his way over to her, and as terrifying as the sight was, Summer chose to stand her ground and held her arms out to her sides as a way of her telling him to stop. "Terumi, I forbid you from harming this girl! She's had enough! You can tell just by looking at her face!" she yelled.

"Summer, are you out of your damn mind!? That bitch tried to _kill my brother_ , and your own daughter was almost killed in the process! How can you even say that!?"

Summer winced. What he was saying was true, and indeed she herself was not happy with what had just transpired, but she wouldn't go so far as to kill the short assassin behind her.

Her job as a Huntress was to protect the innocent and _apprehend_ criminals, and killing was definitely _not_ on the list.

"L-Look, I know you're mad, but-" Summer gasped when Terumi suddenly lunged forward without warning, though she knew that it wasn't herself whom he was aiming for. So taking advantage of that, Summer wrapped her arms around him and attempted to hold him in place, but to her surprise she was barely succeeding. With all the injuries he sustained, it was amazing just how far he could push himself. "T-Terumi! Stop!" she ordered.

"Let me at her, Summer! Let go!" he snarled, before a confused noise came flying from his lips. "Huh? Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

Summer, confused, moved her eyes over to the assassin who she had been trying to protect all this time, and was later quite surprised to see that she was slowly crawling away to safety. At this point, Summer honestly couldn't decide whether to just let her escape in order to prevent her from dying in the hands of her employee, or to knock her unconscious so that she could hand her over to the authorities later on, which would mean that she would have to let go of Terumi in order to do so.

And that was a huge risk that she wasn't willing to take.

Terumi, enraged, started to put in more effort into his struggle. "Fuck! Summer, just let me go so I can fucking kill her!" he roared.

Summer winced. "T-That's not going to happen!" Though she couldn't exactly deny the fact that her arms were starting to hurt from all his struggling. As much as she hated to admit it, he was probably going to break free from her hold at some point…

Terumi snarled in response to her words. "I swear, if you don't-"

"Hey."

Summer gasped when a slightly familiar-looking man came appearing right behind her raging employee. She was then startled when he suddenly reached out and pulled Terumi away from her, much to his surprise. Just when she was about to question what he was planning on doing, the man proceeded to roughly turn Terumi around so that they were now face to face with one another.

Terumi then gasped. "What!? Rag-"

Terumi was unable to finish his sentence when the familiar-looking man calmly sent a fist flying into his gut which knocked all the air from his lungs, thus rendering him unconscious as a result. He fell to the ground soon after that.

"Just shut up and sleep, you damn idiot," the man muttered. "Your boss is worried about you…"

Summer, feeling somewhat intimidated, backed away and narrowed her eyes, but to her surprise the man just simply brushed past her shoulder and made his way over to the root of all their problems, running a hand through his white hair as he did so.

And that's when it clicked.

She remembered now!

"Y-You're Terumi's neighbour, aren't you!?" she called out. "Ragna, was it? Why did you do that to him?"

"So that it'll make things easier for you," the man, whose name she recalled being Ragna, answered in a nonchalant manner. "You're his boss, aren't you? I can tell. Do me a favor and bring him to a hospital, along with his younger brother over there. They're gonna need it." She saw him grabbing the short girl by the collar before lifting her up, and for some unexplained reason the psycho's face went paler than it was moments prior upon seeing him. "Anyway, I'll be taking this runt with me, so I'll leave all the mundane bullshit to you," he said.

Summer watched as the man, Ragna, started dragging the short girl away by the back of her collar. She wanted to call out to him so that he could explain himself further, but Summer immediately threw that thought out the window upon realising the horrible state Terumi was in, along with his little brother.

So, as panicked as she was at the moment, Summer quickly made her way over to the unconscious Terumi and lifted him up with extra care.

 **-IIXII-**

For the love of Hades…

When Ragna wanted to pay his jackass of a neighbour a surprise visit at his workplace just to torment him, he did _not_ expect things to go this way.

And he wasn't happy. No.

He was pissed off beyond measure.

How fortunate it was that he decided to not bring Saya along, lest she would've seen the sight of what other children her age shouldn't be seeing.

Ragna should consider himself lucky that she didn't get the chance to see Kval in such a state. That poor kid. Because if she did…

Then controlling _her_ was beyond him, and it would have been a real pain to deal with.

That said, the small runt began to struggle in his grip, much to his annoyance. So in order for him to calm her down, Ragna roughly held her up to his face and shot her a menacing glare, which soon made her freeze in place. And from what he could see now that he got a good look at her, her face was losing _way_ too much color.

Not that he cared, anyway.

"Look here, kid. Judging by your expression, I know that you know who I am," Ragna growled. "Now, I ain't gonna kill you, but I won't keep that promise unless you'd be kind enough to show me the way to your employer's hideout. You _were_ hired by someone, weren't you?"

The midget nodded her head so fast that Ragna assumed that she might break herself.

Fortunately, no such thing happened.

"Good."

Because if she had refused to answer, then he might have done it himself to get the info he needed.

 **-IIXII-**

 **A new character!**

 **Neo - 23**

 **That aside, scary Ragna is scary, along with insane Terumi...**

 **The "Just shut up and sleep, you damn idiot" quote was a reference to Ragna saying something identical to Jin back in, I think it was CS, or maybe even CT. It was so fitting that I couldn't help but to add it in! Also, since this story has battle scenes from time to time, I'm having trouble with picking the right weapon for Summer. A scythe? A blade? Creating anything she wants with the help of her Silver-Eyed powers? Thoughts, please. Thanks in advance.**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	21. Special 008

**I honestly didn't expect to get many reviews in the previous chapter. Like usual, I'll reply to all of them in the next official chapter. For now, enjoy a special!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

 _Slap!_

Raven winced when the sound assaulted her ears. Before she was able to do anything else other than standing around outside the door with her hand being held out towards the knob, the very same door which she was staring at suddenly came bursting open, much to her utter surprise. She was nearly knocked to the ground when Summer came rushing right past her, but before she could call out to the other woman to inquire what was wrong, the sight which then greeted her eyes killed all the words in her throat.

Summer was…crying?

Raven watched as the woman disappeared from view later on, and by that time she had already understand the gist of everything.

"Terumi," she snarled.

Raven marched her way inside the house and approached the living room, pulling out her weapon while she was doing so. Just as she figured, Terumi was there.

The pathetic man had his face turned aside, with a hand held up to his right cheek. And it was so red that not even a tomato could defeat it in terms of color.

" _You_ ," Raven called out, her voice laced with venom. "What did you do this time?"

Luckily none of the kids were around from what she could see, because she knew that what she was about to do to him would need to be censored due to extreme violence.

"I…" Terumi balled up his other hand into a fist. "I just-"

The blunt side of Raven's weapon slammed into his other unharmed cheek, thus knocking him to the side before he could properly finish his sentence. He slammed into the wall afterwards, but instead of getting back up with anger showing in his eyes, Raven was surprised to find him just sitting there with his head faced downwards.

The sight was rather pitiful, in a way. So pitiful that even Raven herself felt that what she was about to do to him would prove to be too much for him to handle. And so, she kept away her sharp blade and opted to just simply glare at him with her menacing red orbs, her face revealing how disgusted she was.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted. From day one," Raven spat. "I'm not even going to let you apologise to Summer, you hear me?"

Terumi chose to remain silent, and that somehow managed to irritate her further. So irritating, and yet so pitiful.

With a huff, Raven turned her back to him and made her way out of the house with the intention of finding Summer. She could be anywhere at this point.

If anything, Raven could only hope that Summer wasn't in danger. With how she looked just moments ago, even she could tell that she wasn't in the right state of mind to protect herself from unsuspecting trouble.

"Come on Summer, where are you hiding?"

 **-IIXII-**

As it turned out, locating Summer wasn't actually a difficult task after all.

Why Summer had decided to stop by at the park which was just minutes away from her own house was beyond Raven, though she was thankful that the woman wasn't anywhere else. It would've been a pain on her part.

"Summer," Raven called out, noting the way she flinched soon afterwards. She then made her way over to the bench Summer was resting on and sat down beside her, placing an arm over her shoulders. "Would you mind telling me what happened?" she said. When silence greeted her, Raven sighed. "Come on, Summer. I know you want to tell me. I can tell from the look in your eyes."

Summer sniffled. "I-It's…nothing worth talking about."

"Summer," Raven started. "if you don't tell me right now, then I'll probably have to kill a certain someone to make you talk to me."

Summer went rigid at her words. Damn she was too easy to read.

"Joking." Raven smiled as she pulled Summer in closer to her side. "Now tell me. What did he do to you?"

"It's…" Summer paused, eyes downcast. "…not what he did, but what he said to me."

Raven cocked an eyebrow. "So? What did he say?"

Summer hesitated at first, but eventually she started spilling.

"I'll…just start from the beginning then. That way you'll be able to understand the full picture." After earning a quick nod from her, Summer cleared her throat. "S-So earlier today I went to eat at a diner, along with some friends."

Raven nodded once more. "Mhm."

"I ended up eating a whole lot compared to my friends, because at the time I knew that I was starving from all the things that I had to do at work," Summer continued.

Raven found herself nodding again. "Yeah?"

"S-So after we were done eating and all, my friends and I decided to call it a day. I knew Terumi was in my house, since I was the one who requested him to watch over it while I was gone…"

Raven's face immediately turned sour at the mention of the man's name.

"Then, I-I went home." Summer's voice suddenly started to break, much to Raven's concern. "I went up to him and we greeted each other like usual, a-and then…and then…he…h-he said…"

Raven growled. "That's it! I'll kill him! I'll kill that-"

 **-IIXII-**

"Is it just me, or did you gain some weight while you were away?"

Ragna gasped. " _No_."

Terumi touched his cheek, the one which had been slapped by a furious Summer, and he ended up wincing in pain later on. Hell, it stung more than what Raven did to his other one even. "That's what I said," he muttered. "Honestly didn't expect to receive a hard slap of all things…"

"Terumi, you should know by now that saying that to a woman could get you killed!" Ragna exclaimed, before sighing out a relieved sigh. "Though at the same time I am relieved to hear that. When you called me out here saying that there was an emergency, I expected something big. But this? Well…"

Terumi sat down on the porch of Summer's house and decided to release his own sigh, which sounded a lot more heavier than Ragna's. "I know. Women are hard to understand, so I figured that you were my best bet at explaining how they worked and what I did wrong."

"Then shouldn't you have called in Kagura instead of me?"

"He's a prick."

"Figured as much."

"I knew you would." Terumi clicked his tongue when a certain question came popping up in his head. "How should I fix this…?"

Ragna, figuring that Terumi needed actual help on this, slowly opened his mouth to answer.

"You don't have to."

But was later interrupted by Raven before he had a chance to.

Terumi, surprised, turned to where Raven's voice originated from, and the sight which later greeted his eyes made him _even more_ surprised.

Was it just him, or did Summer look like she had just experienced all sorts of hell?

He honestly didn't remember her crying this much compared to the time when she had slapped him, which was just nearly an hour ago.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Terumi," Raven spat. "I believe that Summer owes you an apology."

Silence.

"Eh?"

Ragna blinked. "Well, wasn't expecting that of all things."

Summer nervously fidgeted in place as she kept her mouth shut, only to jump a few inches off the ground when Raven yelled at her.

"What are you waiting for!? Apologise to him, damn it!"

Screaming in absolute fear, Summer ran to Terumi and quickly hid herself behind him, much to his surprise. She then poked her head out from behind his right shoulder, shooting a terrified look in Raven's direction.

"Terumi, help! Raven's bullying me!"

"What was that!?" Raven called out. "Say that again, Summer! Say it!"

"Eep!"

Terumi looked to Summer, then to Raven, then finally to Ragna, who appeared to be shooting him a blank stare from what he could see.

"I guess this settles everything, huh," Ragna said.

In return, Terumi let out a large sigh while running a hand through his hair, sweating ever so slightly upon noticing that Raven was currently stomping her way towards him. Though he knew that Summer was her target, instead of himself for once.

"I guess you could say that…"

 **-IIXII-**

 **Poor Terumi. But hey, good thing Ragna is there.**

 **This is CPL, signing out.**


	22. Trashed Hideouts And Unfriendly Visits

**Troublesome Brats is back with its fourteenth chapter! Wohoo!**

 **And for some fucking reason, it's 6 in the morning and I'm _still_ not sleeping. Just what the hell am I doing with my life?**

 **Though with that aside, reviews!**

 **Boodawg: Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment.**

 **SolarxBlack: Hm. Tempting, tempting. Not sure about the submachine guns though, because I seriously can't imagine her wielding such weapons, but what you're suggesting might just work. Though, we will have to see.**

 **SifTheGreat: No! Don't lose your sanity just because of me! Think of the children! And you're absolutely right, Summer being able to create anything with her Silver-Eyed powers sounds too cool to not use, but I'm still gonna do some research on that. Don't wanna mess things up now...**

 **xDearestHeart2375x: My dear reader, even the ramblings of a tramp is welcomed in the review section. As long as it contains constructive criticism and such, then it counts as giving feedbacks to the writer. And as for Hazama, his relationship with Kval is just fine, but Terumi is the real problem. Just gonna say it now. Neo, on the other hand, yeah...she better watch out in the future, especially when it comes to visiting random houses. As you've said, thank goodness Ragna was there. She could've been creamed for all we know!**

 **NatsuErzaDragneelSusanoo: Thank you, and yes I've heard of that too! It's quite fascinating when you actually think about it. I just can't wait to see what Mori has in store for us BlazBlue fans. And yeah, Terumi is powerful, but do keep in mind that he has a tendency to hold himself back most of the time in battle.**

 **Neramo: It's decided then! And no. Like I've stated in the first chapter, the powers each character have are to some extent, and I honestly don't see a reason why I should add the freakin' Susano'o Unit into this story. What, are you trying to get the RWBY kids killed, along with Summer and her friends!? Nope! Not gonna happen!**

 **-IIXII-**

"So Gerard, how did you end up working for the White Fang despite not being a faunus?"

The teen known as Gerard simply shrugged at the sudden question, tilting his head to the side in a nonchalant manner as he then answered, "A medical mask-wearing friend of mine wanted me to act as a spy of sorts. Don't know why though."

The faunus seemed to blink, which was something that Gerard failed to notice what with the mask covering their face. Just when they were about to turn and inform this to the others, Gerard reached out and set his hand down onto their shoulder.

"By the way, tell this to anyone, and I swear that by the end of the day you'll die in the hands of a rubber chicken," the teen said in a bone-chilling voice while he adjusted his White Fang mask, a smirk creeping across his face. "Got me?"

The White Fang soldier gulped and nodded in response, sweating.

Gerard was planning on saying more in order to secure his identity, but the sound of something exploding soon caught his attention, which came from outside. Something was happening, and figuring that he had no obligation to do anything about it since he was a spy, Gerard pulled his hand back to his side and calmly walked away, thus leaving the poor White Fang soldier to just stand there with a face that screamed 'What the hell did I just got myself into?', right before they were told to check outside by a higher-ranked White Fang soldier.

Gerard chuckled as he left. Because of him, that poor fool was probably going to get nightmares at night.

As everyone else around him ran here and there in a state of panic, Gerard nonchalantly pulled out a Green Tea Kit Kat from his pocket and started whistling.

 **-IIXII-**

"I-It's the Grim Reaper!"

" _The_ Grim Reaper!? Y-You're kidding!"

"Look at the guy yourself, moron! It's him!"

Ragna narrowed his eyes as the inexperienced soldiers came forward and began to surround him all at once, but with one quick look he could easily tell that each and every one of them were beyond the level of terrified. Hell, some of them even had their legs shaking, and if Ragna wasn't so serious, then he probably would've laughed out loud at the pitiful sight.

"W-What's your business here!?" one of the assholes inquired, and the fact that he just pointed a gun straight at his face before even asking the damn question pissed him off greatly. These animals clearly had no manners.

"Bring out Adam. I need to have a word with him," Ragna demanded. "He's here, isn't he? Drag his ass out here if you have to. I don't care."

"H-He isn't!" another White Fang grunt answered with an intimidating voice, attempted anyway. To Ragna, all he heard was a mouse being stepped on. How pitiful. "He moved to our second hideout, so leave us!" Ragna narrowed his eyes when the guy received a smack from one of his pitiful friends, and judging the way he looked, the jackass who did it was probably a higher-ranked soldier.

"I-Idiot! You're not supposed to say that!"

"B-But…"

Oh wow look at that! He got his answer right off the bat!

Damn these guys were idiots.

"So Adam isn't here, you say? If that's the case," Ragna snarled and drew his blade, and wasted no time in transforming it into its highly-intimidating scythe form. He brought it up and with a single swing, around four to five White Fang grunts were out for the count. "then I'll just have to beat all of you up instead!"

"Shit! He's going berserk on us!"

"Like hell I am!" Ragna roared.

Instead of putting up much of a fight, the members of the White Fang scattered like rats and ran around in circles like the group of idiots they were. Sure some were brave enough to stand their ground and fight, but damn the majority of them were just _so_ pathetic!

How the NOL had trouble with these animals was beyond him.

"No one is running away from my watch!" Ragna swung his scythe and sent out a wave of dark energy to his right, eliminating quite a number of the pitiful assholes at once much to his surprise. If anything, this was nothing but child's play at this point. "What's wrong, can't pick up your weapons and fight back!? Worthless animals!" he taunted. "Hey, don't you guys know how to entertain your guests? I'm getting bored here damn it!"

 _Bang!_

Ragna spun his scythe in a wide circle when a White Fang idiot decided to shoot him with a sidearm. The attempted attack ended up being a failure, obviously, so figuring that he owed the guy for blocking the shot, Ragna rushed forward and brought his scythe down onto the soldier. "Die!" he bellowed. Though before his attack connected, some tall guy with a slightly different-looking mask came appearing from nowhere and blocked his scythe.

With a chainsaw.

"L-Lieutenant!?"

 _Another high-ranking idiot. Great,_ Ragna thought.

The high-ranking White Fang soldier took a step forward and activated his chainsaw, which forced Ragna to back away. "Animals, you say? How insulting," he commented. "I'll be sure to have your head once I'm done with you and show it to Leader Taurus."

"Yeah. Keep talking, asshole." Ragna transformed his scythe back into its blade form and rushed towards the White Fang Lieutenant. "See if I give a damn!" He brought it down on the tall soldier, but just as he predicted, the bastard stood his ground and blocked the attack with his annoying little chainsaw. "Let's see just how long your chainsaw will last against my attacks," Ragna snarled.

"Oh we will see," the White Fang Lieutenant replied. "Today will be the day where the Grim Reaper dies in the hands of the White Fang."

Ragna scoffed at that. "Yeah that's rich! Keep dreaming!"

 **-IIXII-**

Somewhere in the distance, leaning weakly against the wall of a nearby abandoned building, was a tired-looking Neo. Her breathing was unsteady, but she was getting better. Slowly, anyway.

Having to meet with the untouchable asshole as well as the Grim Reaper all in one day would do that to anyone.

She watched Ragna as he started trading blows with the White Fang Lieutenant, and from what she was able to see, Ragna was sure as hell winning, but judging by the look on his face it appeared that even he was having trouble, what with the Lieutenant's annoying chainsaw and all.

Neo released a silent sigh and later sat herself down.

 _If I had to guess, Roman would probably laugh if he were to see me like this. And from the looks of things, I'm probably not going to get that money,_ she figured. _Damn it. The next time I see Taurus, I'll-_

"Neo? What are you doing all the way out here?"

Neo snapped her eyes wide open and turned her head to where the sudden voice originated from, and a while after her eyes narrowed immediately. She held up her hand and gave the newcomer her middle finger, more out of annoyance rather than anything else.

"C'mon, don't be like that!" Adachi said with that casual grin of his. "Been a while since we last saw each other."

To Neo, the sight of him carrying a half-eaten burger as well as a small can of soda in each hand made him look even more annoying. What a pest.

She huffed then turned away, before signing, _What are you doing here and what do you want?_

Adachi tilted his head to one side, his grin turning into a playful smile later on. "Well I heard the sound of an explosion not too long ago, so I came by to check things out. You know how curious I can be. And besides, I _am_ a detective. In a way, I guess this counts as me doing my job."

Neo turned to glare at him. _So what do you want?_

"Is it wrong for me to talk to you?" Adachi replied with a question of his own, pouting ever so slightly. And much to Neo's displeasure, he went to her side and sat down, munching on his burger like it was nobody's business. He then turned his attention to the scene happening in the distance, and instead of looking surprised like how a regular person would, he simply let out a low whistle. "Man, that's the Grim Reaper for you. He's doing a pretty damn good job at exterminating those White Fang guys…"

Neo clicked her tongue and gave his shoulder a slap. If anything, it was clear that she didn't want him anywhere near her, making it look as if the man carried some sort of disease with him everywhere he went.

"How rude," Adachi muttered. With his eyes still focused on the scene happening in the near distance, face expressionless as he took another bite out of his burger, he held out his soda towards her. "Care for a drink? You look like a doll that's been thrown into a dumpster, and thirsty."

Neo made a disgusted face as she glared at the offered drink, though as much as she would like to take that can and shove it up the detective's ass, she couldn't deny the fact that she _was_ indeed thirsty. Clicking her tongue once more, Neo snatched the can away from his hand and started chugging it down greedily.

In return, she'll be sure to leave none for him.

"Oh yeah," Adachi casually pulled out another can of soda from his yellow jacket, much to Neo's surprise. If the smirk on his face was anything, then he probably did that on purpose.

 _This asshole,_ Neo cursed.

"Have you heard about the murder cases recently?" Adachi asked.

At that, Neo cocked an eyebrow.

 _What of it?_

"You're not the one responsible, are you?"

Neo narrowed her eyes. _Would you believe me if I said that I'm not the one who you're looking for? And what's with this, all of a sudden? Got yelled at by your boss or something?_

"Just wanted to ask." Adachi took another bite out of his burger and opened up his soda, his eyes moving upwards when a White Fang grunt was thrown a few feet into the air by a rampaging Ragna. That guy would surely lose a leg, if he was lucky. "And I guess that's not too far from the truth…" he muttered. "Our little murderer has been pretty sneaky lately, and the fact that we still haven't been able to find any clues that would lead us to them is driving us crazy."

 _And you're telling me this, why?_

"I just wanted to get this off my chest. Besides, you look like you don't care, but in reality you do. Isn't that right?"

Neo turned away with pouted cheeks, arms folded while shooting the sky a sharp glare with her mismatched eyes. _Yeah. Says you, jackass._

"Right." Adachi observed the fight a moment longer, and just when he decided to finish up his meal, Neo came in and snatched it away from him. Surprised, he turned to the little assassin, only to end up staring in complete shock when he witnessed the sight of her devouring his burger in the span of two seconds. "H-Hey! I paid for that!"

 _That's for what you did to me in the past,_ Neo signed with her head held up high, licking her lips as she did so, eyes narrowed. _I'm still mad at you. Just saying._

Adachi winced. "That's-"

 _Pushing me into that world was not a joke, Tohru._

Adachi went silent.

"Sorry…"

 _You should be, asshole._

Neo threw the burger's wrapper away and hugged her knees to her chest as she watched the carnage happening before her, eyes half-lidded. It was the same thing over and over again, nothing special that was worth noting. The Grim Reaper and the Lieutenant traded blows with one another, while those who were dumb enough to get themselves involved would always end up getting themselves thrown in all directions like a bunch of unwanted dolls due to them just simply getting in the way of everything. The sight bored her to no end.

 **"Blood Cain!"** she heard Ragna roar from the distance.

Neo squinted her eyes, and soon noticed the dark aura the Grim Reaper was emitting.

So now it was basically official. That Lieutenant was as good as dead, and Neo couldn't help but pity him. Judging by how confident he looked with that little chainsaw in his hands, the poor fool was probably unaware of what he was about to go through in the next few seconds. Not saying that she wanted to get herself involved or anything. If anything, she'd probably lose a limb or two if she were to suddenly join in without anything to rely on.

Why she had left her trusted parasol back inside her hideout was beyond her…

A sudden tap on the shoulder immediately pulled Neo's attention away from the intense fight that was occurring in the distance. She then turned to the only person who was responsible with a sharp glare, but that same glare quickly faltered the moment she noticed the look in his eyes.

 _I don't need the details of what went down, but what I do need is the name of the person who hired you,_ Adachi signed with a smile that didn't quite match his eyes, and the sight sent shivers down her spine. _Would you care to tell me?_

 **-IIXII-**

"Just fall and die already!"

Ragna threw a powerful punch which ended up cracking the Lieutenant's mask. Upon realising that the jackass was stunned by his sudden attack, Ragna decided to continue his assault by elbowing him in the face, right before forcefully grabbing his head and slamming it down onto the hard ground.

And with that, his body went limp like a wet noodle in an instant.

Finally. The bastard was done for.

"That should do it."

Sighing, Ragna then made his way over to the annoying little chainsaw that had given him so much trouble and stomped down on it so hard that it ended up breaking into two. At least now he could rest easy knowing that the damn thing was broken.

Ragna looked around him and took in the sight of the miserable cowards running around in circles here and there like the worthless people they were, which soon made him come to the conclusion that staying any longer would benefit him none. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his back to them, walking away as yet another sigh left his lips.

"What a drag. I came all the way out here just for nothing," he grumbled.

Speaking of which, maybe he will ask that midget about the White Fang's second hideout…

Ragna wasn't sure himself, but she probably had the answer he needed.

Probably, anyway. What with all the trouble and shit that he went through before in the past, Ragna knew just how much fate hated him.

Though just as he arrived at the spot where he had left her before he started trashing the White Fang's first hideout just moments ago, Ragna soon took note of the expression the midget was displaying for him to see. If anything, she probably didn't realise that he was there standing right in front of her.

She looked…sad, in a way. To Ragna, it was as if she was recalling something from the past, and judging by that distant look in her eyes, then it was most probably a memory that she would rather forget more than anything. Heck, the sight alone was enough to suppress his urge to drag her around again like he did the first time before he arrived here.

Though speaking of which, since when did she went to get herself two cans of soda?

Ragna cocked an eyebrow. _Was I really gone for that long? Damn. Guess I kept her waiting, huh. Well whatever. Let's just find their second hideout and call it a day. Saya is probably worried about me…_

 **-IIXII-**

"So how did it go?"

The White Fang grunt under his command appeared to fidget under his intimidating gaze, and soon answered, "South, Leader Taurus. In fact, some of our agents sent in reports regarding our first hideout, and, well…the Grim Reaper himself paid the place a visit. So I'm assuming that you are aware of what went down over there."

Adam brought a finger to his chin. "Did not expect the Grim Reaper himself to make his sudden appearance, but no matter. Everything went well in the end. _Almost_ everything, anyway. Our target survived the assassination attempt, but what of our little assassin?"

"It appears that the Grim Reaper has taken her hostage," his subordinate swiftly answered.

Adam smirked. "Not what I planned, but I will admit that things are getting better and better. No matter how you look at it, she has always been a thorn in my side. That midget. Who knew that she was so easy to trick?" He let out a sinister chuckle soon after, as a full-blown slasher smile came creeping across his face. "What a fool. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up dead by tomorrow…in the hands of the Grim Reaper at that."

"I wouldn't be surprised myself, but I'm afraid the possibility of that happening is highly unlikely," a new voice belonging to a male joined in as it echoed throughout the entire warehouse.

"Who goes there!?" a faunus under his command called out, alarmed.

Adam swiftly moved his hand over to the hilt of his trusted blade. Each and every one of his men followed his example and prepared their own weapons as they scanned the whole warehouse, but locating their little intruder proved to be a tall task, even for Adam himself, in fact.

Whoever this human was, it was clear that he knew what he was doing.

 _We just moved here,_ Adam thought, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. _It seems that someone has been keeping an eye on us. This…is troublesome. If anything, I can't afford to let this vermin escape._

As if reading his mind, the intruder spoke.

"I know what you're thinking, Mister Taurus. To ease your worries, I'm not going anywhere. I just came by to pay you a visit is all. Is now a good time? I do sure hope that I'm not interrupting anything important."

"Show yourself," Adam growled.

"No can do. Unless you'd pay me, of course. And I want the same exact amount as the price of that certain job you offered to a certain someone I know of. I'm aware that what I'm asking for is a bit too much, but it is what it is. So how about it?"

Adam found himself fighting back the urge to draw his blade and slash the closest person he could reach in order to suppress his anger, and luckily he managed. Barely, anyway. "Have you gone mad?"

"Mad? Hm, let's see…"

Just then, something slowly came appearing from the shadows. Something big, and humanoid. It wielded a large blade of sorts, so large that even Adam himself found it to be somewhat intimidating, and that was just the thing's weapon. It was red all over, tall, and appeared deadly than anything else he'd seen other than the Grim Reaper and a certain green-haired serpent he knew.

Adam could tell immediately that what he was gazing at was anything but human.

"H-How the hell did this thing even managed to get in here!?"

"W-What…the hell is this thing?"

"Hey, y-you gotta be joking…"

His men were starting to panic, one by one. Adam could tell. And to be honest, he felt somewhat similar.

Adam wasn't an idiot. He knew a deadly foe when he saw one, and this thing was nothing but.

"…I think the one who is mad enough to put a friend of mine in harm's way, is _you_."

Adam lowered himself into a stance when a man in a yellow jacket came walking out of the shadows, and later positioned himself right next to the tall humanoid-like being, carrying nothing but a normal-looking revolver in his right hand. And if Adam wasn't intimidated enough before, then the deadly smirk which the man was shooting in his direction probably changed that.

 _This human. Just…who the hell is he?_

"You feel like dancing, Mister Taurus?"

Jaws clenched, Adam quickly drew his blade, and just as he predicted, the tall humanoid-like being came lunging straight at him.

 **-IIXII-**

 **xDearestHeart2375x, I do apologise for not giving Ragna the opportunity to kick a certain bull's ass, but hey, at least a certain someone we all know and love is gonna do it instead! And Gerard, I hope you enjoyed your gift! I just couldn't help but to add you in there.**

 **If you readers see any mistakes lurking around in this chapter, point 'em out, or don't. Whichever works. It's early in the morning over here, so I'll come back and edit this later, like I always do with each update.**

 **Anyway, I'm done. I need to sleep. I got a house to clean, a cat to feed, and a shit to drop in the toilet later on.**

 **CPL, over and out.**


	23. Special 009

**Hey you all! Just wanted you to know that I'm not dead yet, and that I'm having some problems over here. I can't write the actual chapter right away, so be prepared to be assaulted by specials instead!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"What's with the face?"

Weiss flinched. She turned her head around, only to be met with the sight of her annoying and yet reliable caretaker.

"W-What are you going on about? Do me a favor and stop staring at me, creep," she said to him in her usual annoyed voice.

The man ignored her words and sat himself down beside her on the porch, taking off his hood as he did so in order to make himself look somewhat less intimidating. She knew that he knew just how much she feared his appearance, especially when he had his hood on. When directed at her, those pair of eyes terrified her, and she was sure that Blake would agree with her if she were to question about it.

So putting it simply, Weiss appreciated what he was doing. Not that she was planning on letting him know the fact that she appreciated it, of course. Anything but that.

"I've seen that look countless of times. Cough up," said Terumi.

Weiss quickly turned to stare at him with shock evident in her expression. "So what you're saying is that you've been watching me!? Like, stalking me!?"

"Freaking hell, _no_! You got it wrong! Damn it, why are kids like you the ones who misunderstand things the quickest?" Terumi turned to face the sky and released a sigh, which sounded a whole lot heavier than it appeared to be. "Y'know, I've seen that expression countless of times, and not from you, but from Kazuma. I know what he's thinking when he has that face on display, so seeing that very same look on _your_ face, the same applies to you too."

Weiss blinked. "Huh?"

"Something's bothering you, am I right?" Terumi pulled out a butterfly knife from one of his pockets and, to Weiss' relief, started twirling it around with his fingers. "There is no reason to hide it."

Weiss frowned. "Why do you care?"

"Why, you ask?" Terumi glanced at her for a split second, before replying, "Because I'm your caretaker, I guess. In a way it's kinda my job."

"And if I refuse to say anything, what will happen then?" Weiss questioned, more out of curiosity rather than anything else of course.

"Then I'll keep asking," the green-haired serpent nonchalantly replied, glancing at her briefly once more. "So, what will it be?"

Weiss looked to her feet in silence and gathered her thoughts. As much as she would prefer to keep this to herself, doing so would be utterly meaningless in the end. Weiss needed to get this whole thing out of her system at some point anyway, so getting it out now was probably a better thing to do rather than taking no action at all.

So with that said…

"It's…a family matter."

"Ah. I knew it." Terumi tossed his knife into the air and held out his hand in order to get it back, in which he successfully did, though he almost harmed himself in the process. But if the look on his face was any indication, he probably wouldn't have flinched nor cared even if the knife _did_ cause injury to his hand. "So what am I dealing with here? Abusive asshole of a dad? Uncaring mom? A bothersome younger sibling, perhaps? I've seen you interact with your older sister once, and I can tell that your relationship with her isn't as horrible as the others, so suspecting her is out of the question."

Weiss blinked and stared at her caretaker with the eyes the same size as dinner plates, and if it was possible then her lower jaw probably would have touched the ground by now. Without even having to meet her family, this man just practically figured everything out just by simply reading her face! Unbelievable!

"H-How did you…?"

"Got everything right on my first try, eh? Unsurprising." Terumi kept his knife away and set his chin on the palm of his hand, looking all bored but not. "I have my ways, though right now that's unimportant. So, financial issues kind of deal as well?"

Weiss shook her head, frowning. "Nothing of the sort."

"I see. Just your typical family problem, huh. Right." Terumi gazed up at the darkening sky with his serpentine eyes, his mouth forming a thin line. "I'm assuming that this has something to do with your dad. So…daddy issues?"

Weiss refused to answer. She knew that he knew.

"Don't wanna end up like this daddy of yours, eh? Heh. I can relate…"

Weiss cocked an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, unlike you, a girl who doesn't want to end up being just like her father when she grows up, I for one have someone who I don't want to end up being just like myself when _he_ grows up."

Weiss tilted her head to one side, slightly puzzled. "You're talking about…Kazuma?"

"The one and only. I swear, that kid. When he was younger, he used to do all kinds of reckless shenanigans in order to impress me. All because he wanted to be a person like me when he grows up, which is one of the things that I actually don't want him to be." Terumi chuckled. "Hell, there was this one time, where if I recall correctly, it had something to do with these bags of apples…"

"Oh my." Weiss smiled a bit, interested. "Do tell."

 **-IIXII-**

 _Around 5 years ago…_

 _"Brother! Brother, look!"_

 _"Hm?"_

 _A slightly younger-looking Terumi turned himself away from his work, which apparently was an alley filled to the brim with injured thugs and the like scattered everywhere, and focused his eyes onto his 9 year old sibling. He took note of the bags of apples he was carrying, and was soon unable to resist the temptation of asking a question which suddenly came swinging into his head._

 _"Kazuma."_

 _The green-haired child smiled innocently at him. "Yes?"_

 _Terumi narrowed his eyes. "Where did you run off to, and where did you get all that?"_

 _Kval grinned, appearing as if he had done something that would earn him a gold medal. "I stole them!" he answered._

 _"What!?"_

 _"I know!" Kval jumped with joy, not quite noticing the look of shock and anger which was showing off in the eyes of his older brother. "The store owner had no clue what was coming! One moment he was checking the register, and the next he was sprawled across the floor with-"_

 _"Okay, that's enough! Bring me to that store_ now _!" Terumi yelled._

 _Kval's grin grew extra wide, due to excitement more than anything. "We're going to steal more? As expected of you, Brother! Let's go!"_

 _"No, you idiot! We're going there to return these and apologise!" Terumi explained in a stern tone. "What you did was wrong!"_

 _The young child stared up at him, genuinely puzzled. "So…you beating all these people to a pulp is considered-" A hand came in and grabbed onto his head before he could say anything else, which apparently belonged to his brother. "O-Ow! B-Brother, you're squeezing my head too hard…"_

 _"Don't give me that, you little brat! Now come on!"_

 **-IIXII-**

"Really?" Weiss couldn't help but giggle at the mental image of Kval receiving some measure of scolding from Terumi of all people. Who knew that the calm and quiet boy whom she knew was such a delinquent back in the day. "And then what happened?"

Terumi sighed, though he made no effort to hide the little smile on his face. "Well, funnily enough, when we went to the store to apologise, the store owner recognised my face the moment I walked in, and he immediately told me to keep the apples out of fear. I insisted that I'd pay for all of them, but I was too afraid to get close to the guy."

"And why is that?" Weiss questioned, genuinely curious. "He held a gun or something?"

"Nah." Terumi waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "More like he was on the verge of suffering from a heart attack."

At that, the young Schnee burst out laughing.

And just like that, she felt all better.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Yep, younger Kval is such a devil. An innocent one at that.**

 **Anyway, I seriously wanted to add in a little more, but I'm afraid that doing so would turn this into a huge pile of mess. This will have to make do. And with Ruby and Weiss out of the way, expect to see Terumi's moment with Blake and then Yang at some point. If any of you have ideas for these specials, be sure to suggest! I'm all ears!**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	24. Special 010

**CPL here with another special! Enjoy!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

Ruby was a sweet girl, and Kval was well aware of that.

She was probably the most sweetest little bundle of positive energy that he'd ever seen, and met, in his entire life. Let's not even begin on her level of cuteness. It's off the charts!

Indeed, she was like a sweet little angel.

So why was it that she was sending a menacing look his way?

"Um…" Kval backed away from the couch which Ruby was occupying, all by herself, before poking at Summer's hand in order to get the young woman's attention. "D-Do I need to ask?"

Summer sent a sheepish grin his way, and that somehow made him uneasy.

"Well, we went to the dentist today and um…"

Ah. That explained everything. No wonder why she was making a face that screamed 'I've made the entire world my enemy' while giving menacing looks to everything around her…

"I'm assuming that things didn't go well?" Kval asked.

Summer chuckled in response which, to Kval, sounded somewhat nervously. That alone was all he needed in order to know.

"It's the price that she has to pay for eating too many sweets lately." Summer sighed, and Kval soon found himself nodding in understanding.

"I see," he responded.

"Anyway, I've got to go and buy the ingredients for tonight's dinner, and I'll be borrowing your brother for a bit, so take care of her for me!" Summer explained with a huge grin. "Later!"

"Eh? _What_!?" Kval quickly turned to the young woman, only to see a handful of white rose petals drifting down near the spot where she had been standing mere moments ago. And just like that, she was gone. "E-Eh…?" Figuring that he was now all alone, Kval gulped and slowly turned his attention towards the menacing Ruby.

And boy, she did _not_ look happy.

Putting up a nervous smile, Kval brought up a hand and waved at the girl in a nervous manner. "H-Hey Ruby…"

In response, Ruby's menacing stare intensified.

Kval found himself gulping once more. But even so, he decided that backing down was the last thing he needed, so with that in mind, Kval forced himself forward and sat himself down on the couch.

Right now, he could practically feel the menacing aura being focused solely on him. It's a miracle that he wasn't dead by now, to be perfectly honest.

 _Wow. This is a first,_ Kval thought, all the while ignoring the sudden chill that went down his spine. _I guess even angels could turn into menacing beasts every once in a while…_

When the silence was beginning to get on his nerves, Kval began to awkwardly look around him, everywhere but Ruby for obvious reasons of course, in order to keep his mind occupied. While he did, he spotted a small toy giraffe beside him. How did he not notice that? It looked cute, and Kval then smiled when an idea came bursting its way into his head.

Grabbing the small toy, Kval then turned to Ruby and put up a friendly grin. "Look Ruby, it's a giraffe! Isn't it cute?" He held out the toy towards the ticking bomb, and soon pulled his hand away when said bomb slapped the poor toy away, knocking it out of his grasp. "Ah."

"Stupid giraffe! It's stupid!" Ruby grabbed the toy giraffe by the neck and started slamming it against the couch repeatedly, beating the poor thing with an inch of its life. She was basically throwing a tantrum at this point. "Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid stupid!" she yelled. "Not cute!"

As the scene was unfolding before him, Kval let out a nervous chuckle and scratched his cheek. Something told him that he screwed up somehow. _Big time_. He then slammed a fist onto the palm of his hand when another idea came swinging into his head.

"Hey Ruby," Kval called out, grinning. "What about me? Am _I_ cute?"

The toy giraffe which she had been beating for the last few seconds came flying towards his head, knocking him off the couch.

"Ow!"

Kval held his forehead as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. And yes, it was painful. He slowly sat himself up and rubbed at the painful spot on his head, wincing every now and then, only to pause when a sudden gasp reached his ears. With one eye closed due to the pain, Kval turned his gaze over to the couch, and was quite startled when a red and black blur came flying towards him.

And the next thing Kval knew, Ruby was hugging him.

"R…Ruby?"

Things went silent for a while, but then she finally spoke.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. My stupid mouth hurts…"

Kval slowly faced down and found himself staring at the top of Ruby's head. She wasn't looking at him, and that somehow made him smile, oddly enough.

"It's fine," he said. "I probably shouldn't have asked that dumb question in the first place."

Ruby buried her face into his chest. "You're not cute…" she mumbled.

Kval chuckled. Yeah, he should have seen that one coming from a mile away. "I know. That's why I-"

"But I think you're cool."

Kval paused, mouth agape, cheeks aflame, and his eye widened.

"E-Eh?"

"You heard me."

Ruby pulled back and grinned at him. She then went up to her feet and continued by hugging his head to her chest, much to the boy's confusion and embarrassment.

"R-Ruby, what are you-"

"Shh…"

Kval's cheeks reddened further. He decided to do as he was told.

"Pain, pain, go away. Come again another day," Ruby sang in a gentle voice while caressing Kval's hair. "Pain, pain, go away…"

"U-Um…Ruby, I think-"

She then suddenly leaned down and kissed his sore spot.

Kval went rigid.

"There!" Ruby pulled herself away from the blushing Kval with a bit of pink dusting her pale cheeks, grinning as she did so. "All better! How do you feel?"

In response, Kval shakily reached up and touched that certain spot on his head, and mumbled, "Words are not enough to describe what I am feeling right now, Ruby."

Ruby's little grin turned itself into a smile upon receiving Kval's answer, and her blush soon brightened up as well.

"You're welcome," she said, giggling soon after.

 **-IIXII-**

 **D'aww! How cute! Though I must admit that Kazuma was lucky he survived that...**

 **Please leave a review if you liked!**

 **CPL, over and out.**


	25. Special 011

**This is a continuation of the previous special, but at the same time not quite. Basically, it shows Terumi's side of the story. Enjoy!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Summer!" groaned Terumi. " _Come on_ , let's take a break for fuck's sake! I'm literally carrying everything here, so the least you could do for me is to slow down a bit!"

The young woman beside him sighed with a roll of her eyes. "You do realise that I'm carrying three bags of ingredients for tonight's dinner, right?" she pointed out.

"Well I'm carrying seven of 'em!" Terumi shook the bags he was apparently carrying around in order to emphasize his point, which earned him another sigh from a tired Summer. "Look, I'm not even gonna question why you're preparing yourself for the apocalypse with all this food, and hell, I don't even mind, but that doesn't mean that I have no limit when it comes to my stamina!"

" _Okay_ , okay. We'll rest for a bit. Is that better?" A nod was sent her way, and she rolled her eyes once more. "Sometimes I wonder why I still have you."

"No idea. Maybe it's because I'm charming," was Terumi's response, sounding sarcastic on purpose. He spotted a bench not too far from where they were standing, and soon decided that said bench was the perfect resting spot for him and his employer. "Come on, there's a bench over there. I prefer to sit down rather than what we're doing right now."

"Sure," Summer replied. "Let's go then."

The two went to the bench and slammed their asses down on it with the intention of resting themselves, and as much as Summer hated to admit, she _was_ feeling a bit tired from carrying all those bags. Maybe Terumi was right…

"Ah, I'm so tired. Why do you keep buying tons of ingredients anyway?" asked Terumi.

"It's a force of habit. I mean, you do know that my house is occasionally filled with children, right?" Summer said. "That's why."

"I see." Terumi found himself nodding. "Good point."

"See?" She smiled. "I also invite my neighbours over for dinner sometimes so-"

"Hmm?" Terumi cocked an eyebrow when Summer suddenly stopped talking. Curious, he turned his head to her and asked, "What's with the sudden pause?"

"There's an ice cream van over there." Summer pointed a finger towards a parked vehicle in the distance, and true to her words, it was an ice cream van. "It's rare to see one of those these days, especially in this area. Say, since we're resting up," She smiled. "want to have some ice cream with me?"

Terumi tilted his head to one side as he thought about it, before shrugging upon figuring that there was no harm in having some ice cream every once in a while.

"Sure, but on one condition."

Summer raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Terumi pulled out his wallet from his pocket in order to check the amount of cash that he had on him before going up to his feet, saying, "You've spent enough money for today, so I'm paying. That said, what do you want?"

"Oh, how thoughtful of you!" Summer teased. "Thank you, Terumi. I'll just have a normal vanilla ice cream. Cone, please."

Terumi rolled his eyes in response and turned his back to her, waving his hand in a dismissive manner later on as he approached the ice cream van. "Yeah, sure thing." Once he was close, his eyes spotted the guy managing the whole thing inside the van, but despite having the guy's back turned in his direction, something about him seemed rather familiar. It felt odd, really. "Hey," he called out. "are you open for business? If not, I'll steal your shit and pay you anyway."

"Hmp. Yes, we are open." The man turned to face him with a cold expression. "What would you-"

That was when the two started staring at one another in complete silence.

For a brief while, anyway.

"Jin!?"

"Terumi!?"

Terumi took a couple of steps back and pointed a finger at the man who had attempted to take him in a week ago, his face filled with shock. "W-What the hell are you doing here!?"

Jin slammed his trusted blade, Yukianesa, on the counter and glared. "I should be asking the same to you," he spat.

"I'm here to buy ice cream!" he yelled. "Heck, why I'm here isn't as important as why _you_ are here! But in all seriousness, why…" Terumi eyed the man up and down, taking note of the uniform he was wearing. "…are you selling ice cream? Got fired or something?"

"Call it a hobby," Jin swiftly replied. "Don't judge me."

"You sell ice cream for a hobby? For real?" Terumi gave Jin a blank stare. "You're shitting me, right? There is no way-"

"Look, are you going to order something or not? I'm losing my patience here." Jin growled. "Either you order something, or piss off."

Terumi glared. "Hey, that's no way to treat your fucking customer, you jackass. I might just have to beat some proper manners into that shitty head of yours."

"Proper manners when dealing with someone like _you_?" Jin scrunched up his face in absolute disgust at the idea. "Don't make me laugh. In fact, that joke is so terrible that it'd give me cancer."

"Y'know, I wonder how you're able to sell anything at all with that shitty attitude," Terumi commented with a scowl. "And something tells me that I should think twice before I buy anything. Whatever you have on the menu could be poison for all I know…"

"Smart choice, but rest assured that I wouldn't go that far in order to kill you. I prefer to do things in a fair manner. Now," Jin folded his arms and released a tired sigh. "how long are we going to go at this? Just order something and leave. At this rate, you're going to scare away all my customers."

"Tch. If you even have any, but fine. Time is breathing down my neck anyway." Terumi put his hands inside his pockets and scanned the menu. "I'll take one vanilla ice cream for a friend of mine. Cone for her. As for myself, got any recommendations?"

"I recently got my hands on some strawberries which allowed me to make something new, and I have to admit that the flavor is quite popular right now," Jin said in a cold voice. "But if that's what you want, it's going to cost you. A _lot_. Because scumbags like you will have to pay extra."

"Just for _one_ ice cream? Screw that! Y'know what? I'll just take my friend's ice cream and go." Terumi scowled. "Lord knows that I shouldn't buy anything from you…"

"Whatever," was Jin's uncaring reply. "One vanilla ice cream, coming right up."

Terumi watched as the man took his damn time making Summer's ice cream, and he could've sworn that the asshole was doing it on purpose. Thankfully, the urge to throttle the bastard wasn't as hard to handle as he thought that it'd be. Killing him was an entire different story, however.

After what felt like centuries, Jin was finally done, to Terumi's relief.

"Here." Jin held out the frozen treat with his usual cold expression for the entire universe to see, not that he gave a shit anyway. "One vanilla ice cream. Pay up and scram."

Terumi clicked his tongue as he reached out for the treat. "I hope your business goes south-"

Jin smirked and 'accidentally' dropped the ice cream, splattering it all over the ground near Terumi's feet.

"Whoops."

 **-IIXII-**

"Just what is taking him so long? All I want is just one ice cream…"

Summer pouted as she watched her employee argue with the guy managing the ice cream van in the distance, all because of, from what she saw anyway, a simple accident. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and released an impatient sigh, only to end up raising one of her eyebrows when she saw Terumi bringing his right foot off the ground.

And the next thing she knew, Terumi kicked the large vehicle with all his might which resulted in it flipping over to the side.

Wide-eyed and paled beyond measure, Summer shrieked, "Terumi, just _what_ in the world do you think you're doing!?"

 **-IIXII-**

 **Remember all the way back during Special 001 where Jin wanted to get his hands on some strawberries? Yeah, this is the reason why he wanted them. EpicLinkSam presented me with the idea of Jin selling ice cream, so all the credit goes to him, though I did change it a little. Thanks man.**

 **Anyway, leave a review if you readers enjoyed!**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	26. Worried Kids And Bullshit Reasons

**Welcome to the fifteenth chapter of Troublesome Brats! Surprise surprise, I'm not dead!**

 **Okay okay, I know I've been gone for decades, and I apologise, but I got valid reasons for that. Jobs and exams. Yeah. That's all you need to know. It's a miracle I even managed to cook this one up, so please spare me...**

 **I'll talk to you guys more down below. For now, reviews!**

 **SifTheGreat: Thanks for the kind words, Sif. I appreciate it. I'm glad you enjoy my work so far, but worry not! 'Cuz I've got more! And yeah, little Kazuma will do anything to impress his brother.**

 **SolarxBlack: Wow. Thank you for that. I'm honored to know that you love my story. As for Summer's weapon, I like the dual-bladed idea, but we'll see for now. A dual-bladed scythe without a gun mixed into it works fine, don't you think?**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: LOL, you know it. Could it be, the Butterfly Effect? Haha!**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310: Well it's the least I could do for my buddy boo, haha! You're welcome, by the way. And yes, I'm proud of that adorable special myself.**

 **Neramo: Yes, yes she does. As for Azrael, he'll probably make his appearance later down in the story. I'm still cooking fresh ideas for our beloved Tyrant. Be prepared!**

 **BreezyNymph2375: Of course he doesn't! What do you expect from a guy who has anger issues? Haha! And the sisters? Actually I have! They might appear in the coming specials, if my brain is lucky enough to produce the whole idea. And yes, the guy in the yellow coat was Adachi. Regarding his relationship with Neo, we'll get to that eventually. And as for the adorable special, sadly, I have to agree. Why!?**

 **NexusRider161: I hope not, haha!**

 **EpicLinkSam: It took a while, didn't it? Sorry about that, but hey, I liked how it turned out!**

 **Biddy: Thanks! I'll do my best!**

 **Phew, now that the reviews are done, let's read.**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

It's been two days, and she's probably visited him for more than ten times by now.

A shame that he hasn't woken up yet. Well, unlike his younger sibling of course.

Lord knows how that child managed to maintain his calm attitude after that whole ordeal…

Summer released a sigh as she entered the hospital along with her daughter, who seemed to be as nervous as she was from the looks of things. The two never had a thing when it came to crowded places, so it was understandable.

"Hey Mom?"

Summer looked to her daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Will he be okay?" she asked.

In response, Summer patted the young girl on the head, smiling as she said, "Of course he will. He's your caretaker, isn't he? He'll wake up eventually. And when he does…"

Ruby tilted her head to one side. "When he does?"

Summer grinned. "We'll throw a surprise party or something! How does that sound?"

At that, Ruby beamed. "Sounds awesome! Yeah, let's do that when he wakes up!"

Summer giggled. "That's my girl. Now, come on. Kazuma is probably lonely right now."

"Okay!"

After bringing the two over to the hospital, the people in charge had decided to put Kval and Terumi in the same room together. And the sole reason why that happened was because the doctors were afraid of separating the two. If she had to guess, they were probably worried that he might go berserk upon waking up and seeing that his little brother was nowhere to be seen.

Understandable. Thinking about it now, he actually might.

So after some twists and turns and up the stairs here and there, Summer finally found herself on the exact floor where Terumi's room was situated at. Smiling, she took a handful of quick steps forward and upon reaching a corner she-

"Oh! My apologies. I almost bumped myself into you," an unfamiliar voice apologised. "Deary me, I must have been spacing out there…"

Summer took a step back, taking Ruby along with her. "N-No no, it's fine. Please, there's no need to apologise." She put up a smile for the man in the trench coat, but it soon faltered somewhat due to the fedora which hid away his features. For some reason, his appearance was rather unsettling, along with the strange and quite familiar aura he was emitting. Without even realising, Summer narrowed her eyes, as it was a sign that she had her guard up just in case if something unexpected were to suddenly happen. "W-Well, carry on then," she said.

"Right," the man said. Holding onto his fedora, he then lowered his head and walked right past her, thus excusing himself.

Ruby turned her head around to get a good look at the man's back thanks to her curiosity, eyes squinting, while not knowing that her very own mother was copying her.

 **-IIXII-**

 _I've been here for less than a minute, and I can already tell that every single guard in this building is watching me,_ was the thought that went through Ragna's head as he waited outside the door leading to a certain someone's room. He simply kept his arms folded and let out an annoyed sigh. Was visiting someone always this troublesome?

Well, at least he wasn't alone.

With that in mind, Ragna turned his attention to his only companion, the one and only Velvet Scarlatina. Figuring that the silence was starting to get on his nerves, he decided to speak, "Seeing that we're going to be stuck out here for a bit, how about explaining to me a few things to pass the time?"

"Shoot," was Velvet's swift reply.

"When was the first time you met Kazuma?" he asked.

Honestly speaking, Ragna was curious. When he had told her about the news of his neighbour suddenly ending up in a hospital along with his younger sibling the day before, she looked as if she just saw a maniac murdering a kitten in broad daylight. Though that's obviously a typical reaction you'd get from a friend if you'd tell 'em that someone you know was in a hospital, but the moment he mentioned Kval's name…

Ragna wasn't able to describe the bunny's expression with words, but he knew for a fact that something was wrong with her. And what surprised him even more was when she suddenly chose to accompany him on his trip to the hospital for a friendly visit.

How things went from there to here aside, Ragna still couldn't get the question out of his head. How did the two know each other? It wasn't something that really bothered him to the point where he couldn't sleep at night, but still it was enough to interfere with his daily routine.

Curiosity killed the cat, yes, but Ragna being himself, he'd probably beat the crap out of curiosity before it could even try anything.

The bunny seemed to pause for a second as her soft gaze went up to the ceiling, indicating that she was deep in thought.

"Around 4 years ago, I'm guessing," she finally said.

Sweet Susano'o. Was this girl serious?

"Oh? That's…unexpected." Ragna raised an eyebrow as another question entered his head. "How did you two ended up knowing one another?"

Velvet smiled. "Fate, I guess."

Wow. Unexpected, but an answer is still an answer.

"Right…"

Velvet giggled. "Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"W-Well…yeah, it kinda does," he replied.

"Believe it or not, this hospital was-"

"Huh? Mister Ragna, is that you?" a familiar voice called out.

"Hm?"

With a quick look, it only took roughly a second for his brain to remember the person calling out to him.

"Terumi's boss. Good to see you here…" He then proceeded to scratch his head in an awkward manner. "…I guess."

Yep. Blame his stupid childhood for not actually knowing how to properly deal with people. Women especially.

Though judging by that look on the woman's face, it was safe for Ragna to assume that she didn't mind his way of saying things.

"You too!" the woman replied back with a cheerful grin. "Just got here?"

"Yup." Ragna nodded.

That's when his companion decided to speak up.

"Pardon me for asking, but who is she?"

Ragna casually shot a glance in Velvet's direction and soon explained, "My neighbour's boss, basically. Don't ask for more. I only met her once."

To be precise, he didn't even know her damn name…

"R-Right…" Velvet trailed off.

"Well, seeing that we're still not allowed to see how my asshole of a neighbour is doing due to bullshit reasons from the doctors, I think it's time we properly introduce ourselves," Ragna decided. He really wanted to get this out of the way quickly. The sooner the better. "As you may know already, the name's Ragna. Ragna the Bloodedge. Though I'd prefer it if you'd call me Ragna instead of anything that would attract unwanted attention. Appreciate it." He held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss…?"

The woman offered him a genuine smile and accepted his hand, giving it a firm shake soon after that. "Summer. Summer Rose. Likewise, Ragna."

Ragna nodded once and pulled his hand back to his side, before gesturing over to his companion. "If you're wondering, this is Velvet, a friend of mine. We're co-workers."

Velvet smiled. "Nice to meet you, Miss Rose."

Summer giggled. "Likewise, Velvet. Say," She then turned to him. "why are we not allowed to enter?"

Ragna simply shrugged. "Beats me-"

"Hey! I'm here too!"

"Oh!" The woman brought a hand to her cheek and giggled. "I totally forgot! This is my daughter, Ruby."

"Hi!" the little bundle of pure energy exclaimed with a slight jump, catching Ragna off-guard. Damn, the kid was so small that only now he registered her presence. Glancing at Velvet, the same could be said for her as well.

"Well hello there, Ruby. Nice to meet you," Velvet greeted with a soft smile.

"You too, Miss Bunny!" Ruby grinned, and it only grew wider when Velvet started giggling due to the silly name she gave her.

As the two started chatting and getting to know one another, Ragna noticed that Summer was looking at him as if she wanted to ask something. Knowing what it was, Ragna scratched his cheek and started talking.

"Apparently the doctors are discussing about something inside, something important, and we're not allowed to enter. That's all I know."

Summer blinked, surprised. He could tell that she didn't expect him to satisfy her curiosity, and to be perfectly honest he could totally understand why. "O-Oh. I see…"

 **-IIXII-**

"What a huge mess ya got into this time…"

Wrapping his tails around the branch which he was sitting on, Jubei proceeded to rest his chin on his paw as he blankly stared at the dumb-looking doctors inside the very same room of a certain someone he knew all too well, discussing about things that he honestly didn't care about. Medical bills and all that, most probably.

Though he wondered how the poor son of a bitch was going to get out of this one, what with his financial struggle and all.

"Honestly, because of yer little stunt, the kids got worried…"

He sighed.

Knowing well that his friend was going to have visitors for the whole day, Jubei decided to wait and take his turn to visit during the night. And that could only mean one thing.

To take his turn, he had to wait for hours.

Great.

"The things I do fer them kids…"

Jubei chuckled. Can't say that he minded. He's been through worse than this.

"Well, this ain't the first time."

 **-IIXII-**

 **Another character! Woot!**

 **Jubei - Unknown**

 **Haha...here I am...**

 **Yeah, well, I do sincerely apologise for my absence. And I do have to apologise again for the very short chapter. This ended up being a filler of sorts more than anything. I noticed the sudden drop in quality, and I blame myself for that one. Looks like I'll be needing to clean away all my rustiness again.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review. It helps with my creativity. I know I don't deserve them reviews, but sometimes being a bit greedy isn't a bad thing.**

 **Well, that's all from me.**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	27. Special 012

**From now on, I'll reply to reviews regardless if the update is a special or not, so yay!**

 **That said, reviews!**

 **EpicLinkSam: Indeed I am! Nature has got nothing on me! [Proceeds To Get Blown Away By A Hurricane]**

 **BreezyNymph2375: Haha! I honestly don't know what to say to that, regarding Jin's sudden upgrade. And Jubei, you say? Well, you'd be surprised to see what he's been up to in the last 4 years. Good to see that you're hyped.**

 **Guest: Nah, writing any more fighting scenes will take away my motivation. There will be some fights here and there in the future, but not so much. I realised that this story had quite a few problems, and that was one of 'em. So in conclusion, too much fighting is out of the question. But in my opinion, Adachi stomps.**

 **SifTheGreat: Thanks dude. You have my appreciation for being one heck of a reader and reviewer. You will see Jubei again, fear not, but just not in this special.**

 **Biddy: Sounds about right. Wink wink nudge nudge.**

 **Gerard Sta Maria Terumi 310: It's good to be back, and don't mind me. I'm just happy to see familiar people again. Haha! Good luck with your job too by the way.**

 **So with that done, enjoy the special!**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

 _Shit, they're staring…_

Ragna munched on his burger as sweat rolled down his forehead, trying to ignore the fact that everyone was eyeing his table. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Though frankly speaking, he knew that this was going to be a bad idea from the start, but due to the noises being emitted from the stomach of his little companion, he just had to.

Speaking of his companion…

"Don't just play with your soda. Eat up. I paid the damn thing, so don't make me regret my decision."

Slightly flinching upon hearing his gruff voice, the little assassin timidly reached for her burger and took a small bite, eyes downcast.

Ragna sighed.

"Look, I'm not gonna swallow you up like some Grimm, so don't hold back with your food. Not planning on taking you to the authorities either."

She finally looked to him with upturned eyes, and he could tell that she was still afraid of him.

"I just need your help with finding a certain bull, you got me? After that, I'll let you off the hook." He took another large bite out of his burger and rested his chin on the palm of his hand, eyeing the ceiling as he did so in order to avoid the stares. "You should consider yourself lucky that I'm the one who's dealing with you. If it was that jackass you tried to kill earlier today…"

She swallowed and paled.

"...you'd probably find your decapitated head being stuffed in a trash bag by now."

She placed her burger down on her tray and pushed it in his direction, shaking her head timidly soon after.

 _Shit. Didn't mean to ruin your meal, kid,_ Ragna thought. And he could only assume that she knew that she was sitting with someone who could easily mop the floor with her, hence the reason why she was acting all timid.

Still, that wasn't enough of an excuse for not finishing a meal that _he_ paid for.

"Finish that burger," he said in a stern voice. "Or else."

That worked.

"After we're done eating, we're moving. Questions?"

The little assassin shook her head with a mouthful of her meal, and despite the desperate look on her face, Ragna couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Don't force it down, kid. Take it slow."

 **-IIXII-**

 _Just how powerful is this thing!?_

The crimson monstrosity towered over him with its blade held up high, but before it could even finish him off, Adam quickly rolled to the side and sprinted his way towards the exit.

While he did, he spared a glance to his surroundings.

Each and every one of his men, gone. In just a matter of minutes at that.

His plans were foiled. Just thinking about it made his blood boil, but unfortunately he had other things to worry about, and one of those things was his health. Bruised and clothes tattered, ragged breathing, it was clear that he was in no shape to continue this fight, and as prideful as he was, Adam had to admit that he had lost this battle.

There was no way he could beat that man and his monstrosity.

"And where do you think you're going?"

The very thing that he was trying to escape from came dropping down in his path, cracking the concrete ground somewhat. The thing proceeded to lunge right at him without giving him a moment of preparation. In desperation, Adam followed its movements and escaped through the narrow space right in between its legs, thus giving him the chance to fight another day.

He shouldered through the door which led to outside and kept his legs working nonstop. Looking back to see if the man was chasing after him was a huge gamble in his opinion, so he decided not to. All he could do now was keep on running.

And running.

Though soon after he found himself colliding with someone, which resulted in him falling on his ass.

"Tch!"

Someone dared to get in his way at a time like this!? How foolish!

"Hey! Watch where you're going-"

"Hah?"

That voice…

His blood went icy cold.

It couldn't…

"Well if it isn't Adam Taurus. I was just looking for you."

Adam slowly faced up, and what met his eyes confirmed his fears.

The Grim Reaper.

And the one behind him, was that…Neo?

 **"Black Onslaught!"**

Well shit.

 **-IIXII-**

Adachi casually peeked his head out the entrance of the building, and soon found himself smiling upon witnessing the sight of his prey getting beaten to a pulp by the one and only Grim Reaper.

And Neo was with him? Great!

"Well, that's convenient." He pulled his head back inside and turned to his Persona, grinning. "Guess I won't be needing you anymore. You can go now." With a simple dismissive wave of his hand, his Persona turned away and vanished. "Mission accomplished. Now, better get back to HQ or else my boss will get mad at me. Heh."

 **-IIXII-**

 **This special is somewhat shorter than the rest, just want you to know. I'm still trying to get back on track, so give me some time to practice my writing again. Thanks for being patient guys.**

 **CPL, signing out.**


	28. Special 013

**Hello, and reviews!**

 **SifTheGreat: Your faith in me is all I need.**

 **BreezyNymph2375: It's all about the burger for Neo, haha! And I'm glad you think that way. Thanks.**

 **Guest: Oh. Well, if you're talking about that, then I might, or will. I was planning to in the first place. Heh. Someone's eager, eh? And as for Adam, I guess you could say that he's done for. Though he might appear again in the future. Maybe.**

 **Anyway, have a special.**

 **I own nothing.**

 **-IIXII-**

"Say, Kazuma."

Kval tore his gaze away from the little book he was reading and focused on Yang, smiling his usual smile as he questioned, "Yes?"

"Don't get me wrong, but I'm curious," she said. "What do you actually think of your older brother?"

He noticed how Weiss and Blake lowered their respective books and shot him their intrigued stares, while Ruby continued on with her crusade on her piece of paper with her army of colorful crayons.

"Pardon?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just…" she paused, picking her words carefully he noted. "Well, you two seem _way_ different from one another, that's why. I wanted to know what you think of him."

Kval smiled. "What I think of him, you ask? Well, let's see…"

 **-IIXII-**

" _Watch where you're going, dork!"_

 _Kval moved his eyes to the side as the older boy gripped his collar, right in the middle of the school hallway at that. He hated the looks others were giving him. All they did was laugh and point at him as if he was their plaything._

 _It was sickening._

" _Bumping into me like that, who do you think you are? Haven't you learned anything after that beating I gave you?" He pulled him up a few inches off the ground. Just what were the teachers doing even? "Huh? Answer me."_

 _Kval's face turned sour. "I need to get to class. Let me go, please. I'm in a hurry."_

" _Are you seriously going to say that?" The imbecile chuckled. "I'm not gonna let you go that easily."_

 _Kval sighed, on the inside anyway. He didn't want to provoke this person too much._

 _Been around a few months since this all started. It was his routine, as some would even call it._

 _Attend school. Learn whatever he could. Get his lunch stolen. Get beat up. Repeat._

 _All for looking like an absolute wimp._

 _He hated it._

 _He hated his routine._

 _He hated everything._

 _But he endured it._

" _Aren't you tired of assaulting me every single day?" Kval decided to question._

" _Nah," the boy replied. "That's 'cuz you're fun to mess with."_

" _Tch…"_

" _Oh what was that? You annoyed, runt?" Kval gritted his teeth when the boy started raising his fist. "How about I-"_

 _Kval found himself dropping down to the floor a second later. Confused, he rubbed his sore butt and looked up, only to see his brother holding his abuser up by the head with an extremely unpleasant face._

" _W-What the heck!? Let go of me!"_

 _What was he doing here? He was supposed to be at work! And to make matters worst, he saw everything. There was no doubt about it._

 _He found himself looking away, nervously avoiding his intense stare._

" _I came here 'cuz you forgot your lunchbox. What's going on here?" asked his big brother._

 _He remained silent._

" _I had my suspicions. Were you being harassed in school without my knowing? Answer me."_

 _Kval gulped._

" _Kazuma."_

 _He eventually nodded._

" _Why didn't you tell me?"_

" _B-Because…" he paused. "…I didn't want to bother-"_

" _To hell with that, Kazuma!" His brother practically threw the kid he was holding to the wall and leaned down, grabbing onto his shoulder, making him flinch. "Look at me, Kazuma. Hey, I said look at me."_

 _He was hesitant, but in the end, he did as he was told._

 _And was quite surprised to be met with a pair of worried eyes._

" _I'm your brother. Don't keep things like this away from me. You got that?" He moved his hand from his shoulder to his cheek. "I'm trying my best to be a responsible older sibling here, and I need you to stop hiding things away from me. Things like this, specifically."_

 _Kval looked down. "I'm sorry…"_

" _You should be. Just don't do it again. If anyone ever touches you again, you can bet your ass that I'll kick them to the next dimension." He huffed. "Oh, and here." His older brother handed him his forgotten lunchbox. "I didn't have much time, but boiled eggs." He patted his head, before putting up a small smile in order to lighten up the mood a bit. "Your favorite."_

" _No." Kval sniffled, tearing up somewhat. "Our favorite…"_

" _Heh. You better believe it. Now get to class. I gotta head over to work-"_

 _Kval dropped his lunchbox and immediately hugged his brother. "I'm really sorry for being stupid. I'll…be more honest next time." His embrace tightened. "Be safe…"_

 _His brother simply patted his head once more and nodded. "I will."_

 **-IIXII-**

"He is…"

 **-IIXII-**

 _Kval woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked to the clock hanging on the wall, and noted that it was 3 something AM. Huh._

 _He turned to the futon placed beside his, and tilted his head upon noticing the lack of his older sibling. Where was he? At a time like this, he should be-_

" _Ngh…"_

 _Kval curiously turned his head over to the source of that sudden noise, and his eyes were then greeted with the sight of his supposedly missing brother. He was sleeping soundly on the couch, it seemed. He looked silly, too, with his legs dangling over the edges and all._

 _Smiling, Kval grabbed a blanket and headed his way over. He placed it over his brother and made sure to be extra quiet as to not wake him up._

 _But still, where was he? When he slept, his brother hadn't even arrived home yet._

 _All he said was that he needed to go on a trip to the nearest bookstore, and for what purpose? Couldn't have been that important, now could it?_

 _He then noticed one particular book near his feet, with the cover being an image of a young woman holding hands with a toddler, whom he could only assume was her daughter. Huh. It might have fallen off the edge at some point._

 _Kval lowered himself down and picked up the book with extra care. He inspected the silly book with the silly cover further, and the title was what got to him._

" _Quick Guide To Parenting…For Dummies?" he read, confused._

 _Though it wasn't long before a silly smile came breaking out onto his confused face._

" _You're so silly, Brother…"_

 _He lowered the book and gazed at his brother's sleeping face._

" _You don't need this stupid guide. To me, you're already an expert."_

 _Grabbing one of his pillows as well as the covers from his futon, Kval then later sat down on the floor and soon made himself comfortable by leaning his back onto the couch, right where his brother was sleeping._

 **-IIXII-**

"…without a doubt…"

 **-IIXII-**

" _Open up."_

 _Kval pouted. "I'm fine." He coughed. "Really, I am…"_

" _What you got there is a fever, which automatically means that you're not," said his persistent brother. "Now finish this chicken soup that I made before it gets cold."_

 _With a small groan, Kval did as he was told and opened up his mouth._

 _His brother then started feeding him the hot soup with extra care, careful as to not spill some of the soup on their lovely cheap carpet._

" _I may not be attending school for today, but…" Another spoonful of soup. "…work…"_

" _I told my boss about your fever and that I needed to care for you."_

 _Kval tilted his head to one side. "You did?"_

" _Yep. He didn't take it too well thanks to how busy it's gonna be today, the bastard, so he fired me while we were talking on the phone," Terumi explained with a slight shrug. "Figures."_

" _What!?" Kval exclaimed with widened eyes. "Y-You're-"_

" _Here. Open wide." He held out the spoonful of soup near his mouth, utterly ignoring his reaction._

" _B-But…you're fired," Kval said, eyes downcast. "Because of my fever too. Brother, I'm so sorry for causing this-"_

" _Kazuma, I prioritize you more than I do my work. It's fine," he said in an annoyed manner. "Now open up. I can get another job later after you're done recovering."_

 _Kval silently opened his mouth and took in the spoonful of soup. He swallowed, then asked, "You're not mad at me?"_

" _I'd be stupid if that were the case. Besides, I didn't like that job anyway, so it's all good." He chuckled. "Cheer up. And as your responsible older brother, what matters most to me now is your recovery. Understand?"_

" _G-Got it…"_

 **-IIXII-**

"…the most…"

 **-IIXII-**

" _Here."_

 _Kval inspected the item which was handed to him by his brother, and his eyes soon widened upon registering what it was._

 _The novel that he always wanted. Limited edition? It was limited edition too!?_

" _T-This is…the book that I planned on buying. H-How? You knew?" Kval excitedly looked up to his older sibling, his eyes filled with so much joy that he could have sworn that they were emitting some kind of holy light or something._

 _His brother scratched his cheek and looked away, and he could tell that it was because of the way he was looking at him. Easy to say, his brother was embarrassed. "Just saw you staring at the book the other day. It was obvious," he said. "Think of it as an early birthday present."_

 _Kval laughed. "We celebrated my birthday a few months ago, so how could I even?"_

 _His brother made a silly face. "Oh yeah…"_

" _But really, thank you so much!" He ran up to his brother and gave him the most warmest hug he could possibly manage, just all so he could show how grateful he was. "You really do know how to make my day better…"_

" _Stop it with that crap. Yeesh." His brother patted him on the head with his gaze still elsewhere. "Just take good care of it."_

 _Kval grinned. "I will!"_

 **-IIXII-**

"…amazing brother…"

 **-IIXII-**

" _T-They wouldn't…"_

 _His brother kept his eyes on him as he sat down in front of him, cross-legged._

"… _become my friends…" He hiccuped. "I-I was being nice…and they…"_

 _Pushed him away. Like everyone else did when they first met him._

" _Oh you…" His brother reached out and pulled him in an embrace. "Crying about this will get you nowhere. Who needs those morons anyway?"_

" _B-But I just want someone to talk to in class…" he whimpered._

" _Talking in class will benefit you none, Kazuma, and having idiots with shitty personalities as friends will give you nothing but trouble. Besides," His crying died down somewhat when his brother started caressing his hair. "you got me, remember? I'll always be here for you. Dry up those tears and keep your head up high. Show those losers what they're missing out the next time you see them."_

" _I guess. M-Maybe you're right…" Kval rubbed at his eyes. "A-And I'll try…"_

" _That's my little snake. Go get 'em."_

 **-IIXII-**

"…that I could ever hope for."

He noticed how wide-eyed the others were as they stared at him.

"W-What is it?"

"Kazuma, you're…" Blake trailed off, pointing a finger at his face with a slightly concerned expression.

Kval, confused, brought a hand up to his face, and it took him a second to realise why the girls were giving him such looks.

"Haha…" He sniffled. "…I'm such a crybaby."

"Kazuma, I-I'm so sorry!" Yang quickly sounded as she rushed over to the table for the box of tissues, frantic as she could be. "Oh Dust, I shouldn't have asked that! Idiot!"

Weiss went up to him and took a hold of his hand, gazing at him with worry. "Are you feeling well? Do you need anything?"

Ruby also came in, hugging at his side. "I'm here too if you need me!"

"I'm fine, girls. But thanks for worrying." Kval chuckled, and grinned. "I'm just…filled with joy right now. Haha…"

Indeed. He felt like the luckiest younger brother on the planet.

How silly of him, really. He was always the luckiest to begin with.

 **-IIXII-**

 **Even individuals like Kazuma has their weak moments in life. Plus the fact that he's still a kid, it comes as no surprise, really.**

 **How did I do? Was it good? Cringey? Rusty? A bit out of it? Tell me in your review so I can improve. I require feedback from you guys greatly. I've been having some doubts recently, so your feedback would be much appreciated.**

 **Anyway, I was busy rereading this story in order to refresh myself on the transpired events so I can remember what I was planning for the future updates. I had a few laughs here and there, and damn it was worth it. Got me back to writing I guess. Though I highly, highly, highly highly highly recommend you guys to read this story from the start to remember the little crumbs and pieces that I left which would eventually play a part in the future. Thanks to my long absence, I won't blame you if you've forgotten everything.**

 **Also, I plan on adding characters from different series for cameos and references and such. Still working on that one.**

 **Anyway, that is all from me.**

 **CPL, signing out.**


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